Variable X
by MP36PH3S
Summary: When Sigma starts his rebellion, it's up to X to stop him. But how can he hope to take down the strongest Reploid in existence when he can't even defeat his henchmen without help? At what cost will Sigma be stopped? Can he be stopped at all? Most importantly, how much of fighting his former friends and superior can X take? A novelization of Mega Man X and X2.
1. Street Fighting

**Author's Note: ****As of 7/22, I have decided to continue and expand this into a full adaptation of _Mega Man X_. Please rate and review as you see fit; any and all feedback is appreciated!**

* * *

**Abel City Beltway, July 21XX**

Despite the recent revolt of Sigma, the inhabitants of Abel City felt they had nothing to fear. After all, their proud metropolis was still standing despite the devastating missile strike several days earlier, and not a single Maverick incident had been reported since. Many were on their way home from work, and the city began to transform into a neon carpet as the sun set.

Nobody was aware that their brief respite from Maverick attacks would soon end.

Storm Eagle held the _Death Rogumer_ in cloud cover, awaiting orders. Suddenly, his communicator blinked. Storm Eagle ordered his troops to the deployment bays before responding; any call on a Maverick Hunter frequency signaled sensitive business.

"Yes, Commander Sigma?"

Sigma frowned in irritation at the use of his obsolete title. "Storm Eagle, our chance has come. The humans and Maverick Hunters have lowered their guard; now is our best chance to strike. Begin deploying your forces on the highway as planned."

"Sir, there are thousands of humans on that road! This revolution was never about harming them!" Storm Eagle objected.

"Silence!" Sigma snapped, cutting off Storm Eagle's protests. "Do not forget your position, Storm Eagle! And besides, there is no better way to attract the Hunters than to cause death and destruction. You _will_ follow your orders."

"...Yes, Commander." Storm Eagle resignedly sighed. "Take us down and begin deploying our troops." Despite the avian Reploid's misgivings, Sigma was right; he had no choice if he was to save Teal.

Right on cue, an arrogant voice remarked, "Exactly why I don't have friends. They're just a liability to my interests." Storm Eagle sighed and tried to maintain his composure. "Weren't you supposed to be down there, Vile?"

"I don't give a damn what 'Commander' Sigma says; if X isn't going to show up, I'm wasting my time!" the purple robot replied. Such brashness, Storm Eagle thought with a sigh. Suddenly something caught their attention.

"Then I imagine you'll find your time well-spent," Storm Eagle intoned, as a blue streak of light fell from the sky onto the freeway.

* * *

Dodging fleeing civilians, X ran in the direction of the _Death Rogumer_. Even before the last vehicles had fled past him, X saw what they were fleeing from: a line of Spikies. He raised his X-Buster, but before he fired, he hesitated. Was it right to kill them? Despite their hostility they were still robots, and he could always jump over -_ "No,"_ he snapped to himself._ "You can't. They'll simply keep chasing the civilians. Remember your duty as a Hunter, X!"_

Snapping out of his thoughts, he realized the Spikies were almost on top of him. Instincitvely, he jumped over them and destroyed the line from behind with a well-aimed burst of plasma blasts. _"Well, got them both ways."_

He barely had seconds to duck as a rocket screeched over his head, followed in close succession by several more. Taking advantage of X's vulnerable position, the offending Gun Volt (_"Who gave these things their names anyhow?"_) switched attack modes to trap X in its electric field. However, the blue bomber had anticipated this, and fired a charged shot straight into its head as the walker switched weapons, destroying the machine.

_"Good thing all the bots so far are autonomous. I don't want to kill them, but I really don't want to kill any Reploids."_

The distraction caused X to walk straight into a hole in the road. Steering himself with his buster's recoil, X clung to the wall and slowly began to ascend it by a series of jumps.

As he climbed out of the hole, he realized that the gap could mean only one thing: Crushers. Right on cue, several of the robotic drones dropped their deadly spike presses. X managed to roll out of the way to avoid them, but the machines left gaping maws in the road, and several unfortunate straggling cars plunged into the holes.

Trying not to think about the lives potentially lost, X shot the drones down, careful to aim for their bottoms so as to destroy their spiked presses with them. Continuing on, he shot down three more waves before coming across a pair of Gun Volts. Both immediately launched a barrage of missiles, forcing X to dive behind a wrecked truck for cover. As the walkers clumsily ambled forward to try and flush him out, X stuck his buster out of cover and disgorged a charge shot, blasting both machines backwards. One immediately plunged off the side, while the other shook the blast off and continued advancing.

X realized his power core wouldn't be able to spare enough energy for another charge shot. As the Gun Volt reached his position, X released all the energy his reactor could spare. It wasn't as powerful as a fully-charged shot, but it got the job done and the Gun Volt exploded violently as its rockets combusted.

By now, X could hear a telltale _chop-chop-chop_ of a helicopter, and his suspicions were confirmed as a Bee Blader attack helicopter swooped down in front of him. X scrambled out of cover as the helicopter's missiles blew the wrecked vehicle apart, but was unable to move fast enough to avoid a hail of bullets from its minigun. Most of the shots ricochetted off his armor, but a single bullet managed to penetrate his knee. Disregarding the pain, X silenced the minigun with his own weapon, rolled to avoid another volley of rockets, and blasted the bee's head, where its brain was located. The flying machine quickly lost altitude and crashed into the unstable highway, bringing the section down and crushing several Deerballs that it had dropped earlier. X had reached the far edge of the collapsed section by then and pressed on, noting the _Death Rogumer_ had not moved.

X took a brief moment to check the damage to his knee. The bullet had penetrated, but the hardened steel plating had done its job well; no vital machinery had been damaged, and the bullet had only managed to sever the hydraulics of one of his many backup movement systems. Silently thanking Dr. Light for his foresight, X stood back up and continued on.

As he approached another gap, X scanned the road ahead and saw it was dangerously unstable. Though devoid of enemies, it sloped upwards, and X was well aware that his line of sight and detection was restricted. However, no enemies fired on him as crossed the void. Promptly, several Spikies that had been lying flat at the top of the slope began rolling down.

"Of course it wasn't that simple," X muttered to himself as he dispatched the spiked spheres with his buster.

No sooner had the spiked balls been dispatched than a contingent of Bomb Beens dropped from the sky, accompanied by another Bee Blader. The smaller Bomb Beens pulled ahead of their larger comapnion, but they were recieved by a hail of plasma shots. X smiled as he thought about the exasperated remarks Zero would make about safety and numbers, but quickly pushed the thoughts from his head as he took on the Bee Blader.

The helicopter immediately began dropping Deerballs, which rolled out and sprouted legs upon hitting the ground. X grumbled in annoyance as he put down the flimsy bipedals; they were easy to deal with but they allowed the Bee Blader to attack him without a chance of a counterattack. However the AI of the helicopter made a critical mistake; as it attempted to maneuver for a clear shot, the rotors clipped a streetlight, shredding both themselves and it. With no main rotor, the helicopter spiraled out of control and fell beneath the highway. X cringed as it crashed into a nearby building. With a rumble, the structure tilted and began to collapse, screams rising from the dust cloud.

Instinctively, he jumped over the side of the freeway to help. _"What are you doing?"_ something inside him demanded.

_"I can't just leave them! It was my fault I couldn't take down that Bee Blader in time!"_ he thought as he reached street level.

_"You have a mission to finish! Thousands more could be hurt or killed if you don't stop the Maverick attack!"_ the same inner voice snapped.

_"I still can't just leave them!"_

_"You're not a doctor; there's nothing you can do."_ The voice sounded softer this time. _"Move on, X,"_ it instructed with a hint of sympathy. _"You'll be of more help to them by keeping Mavericks away from the area."_

X heard sirens approaching, and silently prayed the emergency workers would make it in time to save everyone as he reluctantly turned away and began to scale a support column to reach the freeway. Once he reached the top he stole a glance back and was relieved to see his prayer had been answered. Resolutely, X turned away from the collapsed building and back to his mission.

* * *

Storm Eagle monitored the attack with increasing worry. If he failed, Sigma might kill Teal as punishment; he may have been forgiving of X's mistakes as the Commander, but Storm Eagle was not sure if he would show the same mercy now...

His thoughts were interrupted as an alert sounded, and a monitor switched to a feed of X approaching the airship. He'd always known that the blue robot was a warrior at heart, Storm Eagle thought.

"Bah! Smashing a couple of repurposed industrial bots means nothing!" Storm Eagle sighed as he realized he had spoken his thoughts aloud. "I'll show that worthless piece of scrap his true worth!" Vile snapped.

With that, the purple Reploid stalked off the bridge to the deployment bay to power up his Ride Armor.

* * *

X was now under the _Death Rogumer_. "Any way to enter the ship?" he inquired.

"Scanning...Looks like the only way in is to use the deployment ramps," came the reply.

"Then here I..." X's voice trailed off as a massive blue walker jumped from the ramp and landed in front of him, cracking the pavement under its feet.

"Vile, please stand down. I don't want to fight a comrade, even if you've gone Maverick." X spoke in a friendly tone, despite the cold relationship between the two.

"Maverick? Hah! You think I work for Sigma? I care nothing for his 'better world' or your 'limitless potential'! I have only one purpose, X, and that's to kick your blue ass to the scrap heap!" With that, Vile's Ride Armor charged.

Immediately, X knew this was going to be a tough if not unwinnable fight. Though only equipped with fists the Ride Armor was built to withstand artillery shells and would be almost immune to his buster. Nevertheless, X had no choice. He rolled underneath the walker and fired a charged shot at the cockpit, but the shielding around it held. Switching tactics, X aimed for the knee joint, pelting it with plasma shots. By this time Vile had lined up his walker for another charge, and this time X wasn't so lucky. The Ride Armor's fist connected with a sickening crunch, throwing X back a respectable distance. X staggered to his feet, only to have the Ride Armor punch him again. Once more he tried to stand but Vile met his rise with another punch, this time in the head, dislodging his helmet.

"C'mon X, show me that 'limitless potential' of yours!" Vile mocked as he punched X again and again. After three more blows, X didn't get up. His helmet was gone, and his armor was badly dented.

"You...you've won. Finish me," X groaned.

Vile laughed again. "There's one request I can agree with, but I think I'll have some fun first!" Suddenly X found himself imprisoned in the Ride Armor's massive fist. Though his left arm was free, his buster arm was trapped. Not that his buster could do anything when it was free...

"You put up even less of a fight than I expected a weakling like you to be able to," Vile sneered, simultaneously smashing X's head with the Ride Armor's free fist. He laughed sadistically at X's moan of pain. "Sigma thinks you can change the world huh? Well, you'll hardly be able to change the world if you're dead!" The fist made contact with X's head again, and the blue bomber blacked out.

"Change the world?" demanded a new voice. "Sounds like Maverick talk to me!" A massive energy blast crashed into the Ride Armor, blowing off the arm holding X captive. X's systems rebooted just in time to see his savior charging another blast.

"Dammit Zero, you'll regret this!" Vile snarled before the _Death Rogumer_ picked up his ride armor. Zero cursed as the deployment ramp closed and fired at the airship, but its thick armor and shields deflected his shot. With the attack on the highway over, Zero turned to his friend.

"I...guess I'm not strong enough..." X muttered regretfully as his friend approached.

"X..." Zero laid a hand on the former's shoulder. "...You shouldn't expect to defeat Vile, he was built for combat. Besides, you haven't even reached full power yet. I'm sure that if you use all the powers Dr. Light built you with, you can become stronger...maybe even as strong as I am."

"Zero...thank you for saving me."

"It's what friends do for each other. Let's get you back to Hunter Base for repairs. I'll scout ahead for the location of Sigma's fortress and collect as much information as I can. You stay here and help the other Hunters suppress any other Maverick attacks. Good luck X, I know you can do it!"

With that, the duo teleported back to Hunter Base.

* * *

**Hunter Base, the next day**

X sighed, still disappointed by his failure. Though everyone had reminded him that he single-handedly stopped the Maverick attack on the highway, it did nothing to alleviate his disappointment. X hadn't failed to notice that nobody had mentioned the helicopter crash, which only deepened his disappointment.

X returned to the pod that served as his quarters. Suddenly, words from a long time ago came back to him.

_"I have given you the power to think, to worry, and to grow and evolve as you fight."_

_"Doctor, I'll use this power to fight for justice. To fight for hope!"_

_"Of course you will, X. I want you to use that conscience to fight for the people of the future. They will need someone like you to guide them."_

An alarm snapped X out of his flashback. Running up to the command center, he saw hundreds of incidents marked on the map of Abel City. A dispatcher motioned him over.

"X, the majority of these incidents involve small numbers of Mavericks. Law enforcement and the remainder of us Hunters can deal with those. But there's eight critical installations that are being attacked by large armies. We'll likely need you on those. I don't know if we can spare anyone to help."

"I..." X was about to back down when he remembered his flashback. He _would_ make his father proud, and he _would_ honor his pledge, no matter the cost. "No. Even if you can spare personnel, I'll take care of those Mavericks by myself. Just show me where to go."

* * *

**Author's note: So I did expand on this quite a bit more than I anticipated. I initially was unsure about whether or not to continue with a full adaptation of _Mega Man X_, however I have decided I will do so.**

**I know a lot of you might raising eyebrows over Vile's language, but I wanted this to be a more mature adaptation of the X series than the game itself. Not only that, I felt that this was the way such a crass character as Vile should have behaved if it weren't for the ****_Mega Man_**** franchise being intended primarily for kids. As a prior warning, there will be some instances of mild language elsewhere.**

**I tried to draw out the battle against Vile to emphasize its meaningfulness later on in the story. I'm also trying to show that X's emotions are deeper compared to his Reploid counterparts since many of the characters see that as of importance.**

**While I will try to keep the Mavericks themselves as authentic as possible, I'm developing Storm Eagle's character a bit more than the rest (in the event of me continuing on otherwise he'll be the only one developed) because he has a girlfriend.**

**Note: I'm combining canons here. I've taken elements from the ****_Rockman X _****manga, ****_Maverick Hunter X_**** and ****_Mega Man X_****. A couple exceptions to this:**

**-Storm Eagle's girlfriend, Teal, is not dead as she is in the _Rockman X_ manga where she comes from**

**-Stage gimmicks and enemies as well as part locations will be the same as in the original _Mega Man X_ however the way they will be described may be different**

**_-_Dialogue will be a mixture of generic and game-based quotes; no manga lines**


	2. What a Maverick Fights For

**Author's Note: So I have decided to expand "Variable X" into a full ****adaptation. This chapter will focus primarily on the antagonists, and elaborate a little bit more on the "hostage" situation I mentioned previously.**

* * *

**_Death Rogumer_****, the day after the attack**

If not for practice at maintaining a professional composure, Storm Eagle would be shaking uncontrollably. Sigma had been furious when the former had called to report the foiled attack. Though the attack had lasted long enough for Sigma to mobilize his armies without opposition, they had not been able to attack while the Hunters were distracted as Sigma had planned.

It was not so much the commander's wrath that Storm Eagle feared. Rather, it was what he could do to others as retribution for Storm Eagle's failure that scared the avian Reploid. True, most of Sigma's anger had been directed at Vile for disobeying his orders, but as Storm Eagle was in charge of the operation some of the fault would invariably lie with him. Nonetheless, Storm Eagle continued to give orders as the airship prepared to dock, trying to ignore Sigma's presence in the docking bay

To his surprise, Sigma did not proceed to berate him as Storm Eagle disembarked. Instead, the commander was focused on Vile.

"It seems your combat skills are about as proficient as your ability to follow orders." Though Sigma's tone was calm, it had a dangerous edge to it.

"Not to interrupt sir..." Storm Eagle inquired.

"You are free to go for now, Storm Eagle. We will talk later."

"Yes sir." With that, Storm Eagle left the bay, trying not to break into a run. Sigma turned his attention back to Vile.

"It wasn't my fault! Zero showed up to save that pussy! And you of all people should know he's better than me!" the bitterness in Vile's tone wasn't lost on Sigma. Though the latter admired Vile's determination to surpass Zero, Sigma decided that Vile needed to be taught his place in the Reploid rebellion.

"Silence!" he roared. "You brought it upon yourself by refusing to follow orders, Vile! Had you spearheaded the assault X would not be alive right now! We knew full well that Zero was handling matters elsewhere, and by refusing to lead the attack you dragged us down and gave Zero the time he needed!" Throughout all this, Vile had remained impassive, continuing to boldly stare into Sigma's eyes.

"You know the punishment for ignoring orders, Vile..."

"So why don't you go ahead and punish me? Go ahead, 'Commander', take that fancy sword of yours and cut me in half like everyone else!" Vile mocked.

Instead, Sigma turned around and left without another word. "You should thank Storm Eagle for trying to justify your case," the commander said over his shoulder as he disappeared. "And remember that I will not forgive your failure a second time. If you are so strong, prove it to me, or die trying."

"Hmph!" Vile knew Storm Eagle was a goody-two-shoes to the point that it infuriated him, but he hadn't expected the Reploid to stick his neck that far out for him. Especially when Sigma almost literally had Storm Eagle by the neck. "Maybe I have misjudged him," mused the purple Reploid. "Or Sigma could be playing another one of his mind games. Hell, I'll bet even Storm Eagle himself regrets it in hindsight even if it is true." Vile briefly considered paying Storm Eagle a visit to inquire, but he quickly dismissed the idea. Let that stupid bird do what he thought was right while he could; the first casualty of a war is always morality. He was too wrapped up in his thoughts to hear Sigma's ultimatum, but it wouldn't have mattered anyway. Next time, it would be a duel to the death with that red blondie and his blue bitch...

* * *

**Prison, Sigma Palace, one hour later**

Debriefing Sigma on the highway attack had not been nearly as excruciating as Storm Eagle figured. True, the Reploid's expectations had been overexaggerated, but Storm Eagle was surprised to see that Sigma remained calm throughout the entire affair. Sigma had even allowed him to visit Teal in the palace's prison, a rare privelage. Storm Eagle had done so illicitly in the past several times, but this was the first authorized visit since Sigma's rebellion started.

As Storm Eagle descended the lift into the prison, he looked around. Many of Sigma's more radical and unstable Reploids were stationed as guards here for sheer lack of other uses. Sigma might believe in rebellion, but he certainly didn't believe in ethnic cleansing like these robots; after all, Sigma knew that humanity had created Reploids in the first place. Just being here made Storm Eagle uncomfortable though even these undecorous Reploids respected him to the last man.

The two didn't have much to talk about, since Storm Eagle had visited his girlfriend just before departing for the highway raid. For violent radicals, Sigma's guards treated Teal very well, though Storm Eagle wasn't sure if this was only because of his standing. Though Teal disapproved of her love commiting crimes against humanity, she didn't have the heart to ask him to stop. The life of a Maverick Hunter was often fraught with emotional qualms and loneliness, and Teal didn't want to leave Storm Eagle when she had given him a way out of his tumultuous life.

"Teal, I can't do that. You know that Sigma has safeguards against that." Storm Eagle sighed with no conviction in his voice. Teal had floated the idea of them escaping right then and there.

"I know, Storm Eagle. I'm just so tired of all this fighting. We should get away from it, find a place to settle down." Teal looked at the silver engagement ring on Storm Eagle's hand as she spoke and lifted her right hand, which bore a similar ring, into her lover's view.

"I wish..." Storm Eagle's voice trailed off. He knew that even if they both survived the current course of events they would be wanted fugitives. "I wish it could be so. For the first time since I joined the Hunters I've found a way to cope with my job as a killer..."

"Don't say that! It's not true!" Though Teal lacked any real conviction in those words, she had already seen the extent to which Storm Eagle's guilt and grief over killing his fellow Reploids had taken him before Sigma's rebellion started. And now, her lover had just returned from attacking a highway filled with humans. There was no real way to justify her words anymore, but Teal uttered them anyway in the vain hope that it would push his feelings aside if only for the slightest moment.

Storm Eagle was about to continue when one of the guards tapped him on the shoulder. "Sir, Commander Sigma has requested your presence."

The avian Reploid gave a nod of acknowledgement before looking back at the guard. "Just one more thing." The guard nodded and opened Teal's cell. Storm Eagle stepped inside and they wordlessly embraced each other, Storm Eagle folding his wings around them both. The moment was quickly broken when the Reploid warden walked by.

"What the hell is this?" he demanded. Storm Eagle quickly removed himself from Teal's arms and walked out of the cell, closing the door behind him, the guard quickly locked the door as he did. "Can a human even get impregnated by - " The warden's expression quickly softened upon seeing who he had yelled at. "My apologies, Storm Eagle. Some of these degenerates have been pissing me off. Look, a lot of us respect you greatly, but that can't help you if someone decides to inform Sigma of our leniency."

As if to underscore his point, a line of hostages walked past. As one of them slowed down the guard that had shown Storm Eagle so much respect stepped forward, knocked the man off his feet, and began beating him with a nightstick. "What are you, enjoying this, you sick fuck?" After several more blows, the guard lifted the prisoner by his neck and tossed him into the middle of the prisoner line. "What are you retards looking at? Keep moving or you're sorry ass is next!" When a child hesitated to comply, the guard snapped, "What's the matter? No speak English? Let me teach you!" With a sickening thud the nightstick made contact in the worst place.

Storm Eagle had seen enough. Ignoring the guard, he gently helped the little girl to her feet and walked with her to her new cell, holding her hand to comfort her. Once she had gone in and the doors locked, he turned and walked towards the lift, throwing a disgusted glance at the stunned guard as he passed.

* * *

**Hangar bays, Sigma Palace**

Boomer Kuwanger stared out at the expanse of Abel City sprawled below. It was laughable to think that Sigma Palace stood so close to their primary targets and yet the massive citadel had gone unnoticed in the weeks prior to Sigma's rebellion, especially because it was located on a plateau. Behind him, several crates of spikes, along with miles of power cables to energize them, were being loaded onto a transport. Suddenly there was a crash from the opposite side of the hangar, and Boomer Kuwanger facepalmed as several minecarts rolled across the floor.

"You know those are a terrible idea. You're giving the Hunters a much better chance of breaking through your defenses."

"So be it. If the Hunters make it past my defenses, they will still have to fight me for control of the mine."

"Your warrior pride blinds you, Armored Armadillo. Remember, we are to protect the installations that we capture, not destroy the Hunters."

"You worry too much, Kuwanger. Nobody can stand against us!"

"There is always Zero. And I'm worried about X..."

"Bah, the Hunters are having Zero play Sherlock right now, and X couldn't hope to stand against us! We were both S/A-ranked Hunters!"

Boomer Kuwanger sighed. "Armored Armadillo, Sigma spoke of X having limitless potential. X may not know he has it within himself yet, but I believe the Commander's words. He is among the best judges of both physical ability and character I have ever seen."

Armored Armadillo grumbled but didn't argue.

"If you'll excuse me, I must be ready for the commander's attack order," Boomer Kuwanger intoned as a technician walked over to him. The former stepped into his transport and the craft took off shortly afterwards.

Armored Armadillo remembered Sigma's words as accurately as the rest of the generals, but while the others had hesitated and questioned their leader, Armadillo had simply acknowledged them and left. He strongly believed that a warrior should fight to the last, and if that was what it took to further Sigma's objectives, then he would gladly lay his down for the sake of his fellow Reploids.

"Do you think the Commander knows what he's doing?" A new voice spoke from behind Armored Armadillo.

"I am not one to question Sigma's orders, Spark Mandrill. Besides, with your limited intelligence I doubt you could either."

"I'm not the brightest spark in the power plant, Armadillo, but I have a feeling this might backfire on Sigma."

"That's hardly an explanation befitting you..."

"But you know that I only joined this rebellion because of my loyalty to Sigma. So why does this come as a surprise?"

"It is not my duty to judge, Spark Mandrill. I simply thought that you usually require more explaining than just that to be convinced."

Spark Mandrill sighed and began to walk away. However he immediately ran into over a fueling drone, knocking them both over. As Spark Mandrill's left arm came in contact with Armored Armadillo's back, there was a flash of electricity and the armor plate fell to the ground.

"You imbecile!" Armored Armadillo quickly re-attached the armor piece and stalked off without another word. Spark Mandrill clumsily got back to his feet and lumbered off to oversee the loading of one of his own transports.

* * *

**Throne room, Sigma Palace**

When Storm Eagle reached Sigma's throne room, the Maverick leader was waiting for him with an expression of interest. "Hello, Storm Eagle."

"I apologize for my delay in answering your summons."

"There is no need to apologize. I understand." Was that genuine sympathy in Sigma's tone?

"Do not mistake my leniency for compassion, Storm Eagle. As you know, your army is poised to attack the Abel City Airport. It is imperative that this phase of our rebellion go smoothly. _At all costs. _Am I understood?"

"Sir..."

"I know you did not misunderstand me Storm Eagle. Securing the city's infrastructure will leave humanity and its defenders crippled. It is an opportunity we cannot afford to waste and an advantage I will not relinquish easily."

Suddenly, Sigma's allowance of a visit made sense to Storm Eagle. It wasn't that he was being generous: it was because Sigma knew that it most likely would be the last time Storm Eagle would ever have a chance to see Teal again.

"Let me make it clear, Storm Eagle. You were partially responsible for the failure of the highway attack. If not for the fact that I have further uses for both you and Vile, you would both be piles of scrap right now. _I will not be so forgiving of failure next time. You would be better off laying down your life against the enemy than returning to me in defeat. _Now go; your army awaits your command. Attack immediately."

"Yes, Commander Sigma." Storm Eagle bowed nervously and retreated from the throne room.

Behind the commander, a large screen displayed a map of Abel City, with eight red dots signalling the objectives of his armies. Sigma reached for a microphone and hailed the other seven Maverick generals. Immediately, their faces appeared on the perimeter of his screen.

"The time is now, gentlemen. Strike swiftly and severely. Secure your objectives and hold them at all costs. Remember that the conquest of these facilities is vital to our rebellion. There will be no retreats or excuses. Good luck."

Cutting the transmission, Sigma proceeded to hail the leader of the Reploid resistance in Abel City. "Begin your attack as planned. My armies are in position and making their move according to plan."

"Very well, Commander Sigma. It is long past time that we bring humanity to its knees for its crimes against our kind."

With nothing more than an acknowledging nod, Sigma cut the transmission. "Our plans are proceeding perfectly," he spoke to Velguarder. The robotic wolf growled as Sigma scratched its ears. Looking up at the portraits of the eight Maverick generals arrayed in front of him, Sigma wondered which one the Hunters would target first.

* * *

**Author's note: ****I wanted this chapter to explore a little bit of Sigma's side, even if some of it seems somewhat irrelevant. I added the prison brutality to show that even "Mavericks" have their differences; by comparison Vile looks tame. Besides that scene, I hope you enjoyed the chapter! Please rate and review!**

**A thing regarding Teal: unlike in the manga I made her human because I figured with a boyfriend in Sigma's army she'd join if she was a Reploid.**


	3. Put on Ice

**Author's note: Well, I guess everyone but me starts with Chill Penguin. Anyhow, here's the next part of "Variable X", I hope you enjoy it!**

**Listen to the boss appearance theme while reading the dialogues between a Maverick and X, and the boss battle theme during the boss fight!**

**I did decide to make a nod to Vile's weaponry from _Maverick Hunter X_, however he won't have his full arsenal (but he will have more than he currently does). Vile is able to use every single weapon system simultaneously here for both personality and plot reasons: I felt his arrogance had to be justified somehow, and anyhow it makes a stronger opponent for X to defeat.**

* * *

**Iron Dome Missile Base, outskirts of Abel City**

Chill Penguin stared out over the expanse of the plateau that the base was situated on from the base's former command center. Next to him lay a shard of metal that once belonged to Sigma' face. The commander had brought X and Zero to their knees and launched his first onslaught from this very room. The irony, however, was that the system was originally designed to shoot down incoming meteors and satellites falling from orbit, though they also proved effective against aircraft. Given the rockets' small size, each silo could hold multiple rockets. However every single missile had been fired on Abel City a week earlier. Though lacking in destructive power, the rockets had fallen from a low orbit, amplifying their power all the more. Sigma along with many of his Reploid followers had laughed as almost 40% of the city was leveled by the very same system that they had entrusted their lives to.

The base had changed significantly since that day though, as Chill Penguin had begun digging in his forces. Unlike the others, his location had been abandoned already, allowing his forces to begin digging in almost immediately. Just as well: most of his combatants couldn't fight at optimal capability without a cold environment. Though Chill Penguin had helped generate the thick layer of snow and ice coatings that now made up the majority of the plateau's landscape, maintaining that layer was surprisingly easy. With no prevailing winds in the area, all Chill Penguin had to do to maintain the layer was fire dry ice into the sky to seed clouds over the areas that needed more snow. Naturally, he was bored out of his mind.

Thus, when Sigma gave the order to attack, Chill Penguin had paid little attention as his objective was already conquered and his defenses established. Until the one person he did not want to see showed up at his base.

"Whaaat are you doing here, Vile? Didn't the Commander give you orders to remain at the palace?" Chill Penguin squawked.

"Stow it, turkey, I'm not here because I want to help. X is going to show up sometime, and I intend to fight him when he does. That being said..." Vile let his statement hang in the air before suddenly tearing Chill Penguin's liquid nitrogen pod off his back.

"Whaat? What is this?"

"Shut up before I stick my cannon into that oversized carrot you have for a mouth." Vile proceeded to adapt the pod's systems to his own weapons systems. "Perfect."

Chill Penguin facepalmed, at least as best as a penguin could do. "When the Commander hears about this, Vile, you're in trouble..."

"Listen, you oversized bobsled. Have I not made it obvious I don't give a damn what Sigma wants me to do? So save your breath for forging ice scupltures and cut the bitching." Fortunately Chill Penguin had requested a repair bot and the smaller android had no problem re-attaching the pod.

Their misgivings of each other were interrupted when the proximity alarm sounded.

* * *

X sighed. Why couldn't the teleporter just take him straight to Chill Penguin? Brushing the thought aside, he began firing at an attacking patrol of Bomb Beens. Just as he dispatched them, several Ray Bits burst out of a nearby snowdrift and fired a volley of laser blasts. Thankfully, they were terrible shots. The lasers landed all around X, but not a single one hit him. They never got a chance to correct their aim as X blasted them to scrap.

Several suspiciously tall snowdrifts caught X's attention. As he moved closer to investigate, the bottom of one of them came flying at him, and spikes popped out from underneath the snow. X expelled a curse and dove for the ground. As he raised his head, the Axe Max who had hurled the first log bit suddenly threw another at him. X rolled aside, but the log slammed into his foot. Thankfully the spikes missed him, but he was still knocked off balance. Upon seeing X take the hit, the Axe Max gave a monotonous, low chuckle. The log proceeded to regenerate new segments, but X's charged shot smashed through the Axe Max's primitive wall and the minion itself. Navigating past another patrol of Bomb Beens, X came to a checkpoint guarded by two more Axe Maxes. As he approached, several Ray Bits also popped out of the snow. Wonderful. He'd have over a dozen enemies attacking him and no cover.

Praying his armor could take any lucky hits, X began to demolish the Axe Maxes crude walls with continuous buster fire. Eventually several shots penetrated the regenerating barrier and one of the Axe Maxes fell. Now behind the other one, X had no problem taking it out now that its wall no longer protected it. During all this time, the Ray Bits hadn't scored a hit. One of them had come close, but one of its overzealous comrades had jumped in front of it and taken the hit instead. X felt a twinge of sympathy, but it didn't stop him from taking them down; poor aiming skills or not, they were still a threat.

By now X realized he was near a bunker built into the plateau. He scanned it quickly and found an entrance. But just before he could enter, he heard something from behind him. X dove to the ground as a blast destroyed the bunker door. When he got up, he saw Vile standing in front of him, having leapt down from his hiding spot atop the bunker.

"Surprise, X. Now stand up and fight!" Vile roughly seized X by the neck and hauled the latter to his feet.

_"Great." _X cursed. He didn't have time for this but he had no way around Vile. As X fired repeatedly at the fast-moving Reploid, Vile unleashed a blue/white projectile from his arm. X barely had time to register it before the heavy ice needle slammed into his chest. Though it didn't penetrate, it had hit a lot harder than he thought such a small projectile could: there was a massive dent in his chest plating and the armor was cracked. Giving him no respite from the Distance Needler shot, Vile dropped several bombs on the ground near X's location. X barely managed to dodge the array, and Vile immediately followed up by throwing several icy boomerangs. They soared inches from X's face as he rolled to avoid the continuous barrage weapons fire. Vile unleashed several slow-moving missiles from his wrist launcher while attacking again with his other weaponry. X saw the trap coming and dodged as best as he could, but one of the missiles detonated close enough to blind X for a second. Vile pinned X to the ground in that second and laughed.

"Once a wimp, always a wimp, huh, X?" X didn't reply and blasted Vile with a charge shot to the chest. "Gaah!" The purple Reploid staggered back, clutching the massive hole in his chest. The charge shot hadn't penetrated, but it had burned away the armor and some of Vile's reactor shielding.

"This isn't over, X!" Vile stumbled away from X, only to have his cannon slashed off by Zero's Z-Saber.

"Game over, Vile." Vile didn't respond but launched a bomb at Zero's face. The red robot dodged the explosive and sliced the bomb launchers off Vile's legs.

"X, get inside! I'll take care of Vile!" Zero shouted as Vile, spewing curses and profanity, attempted to take Zero on in close-quarter combat. X looked on with concern, but he knew Zero was more than capable of handling Vile and ducked inside the bunker. Finding another door at the end, X promptly kicked it down and found himself on a catwalk inside one of the missile bays. Suddenly there was a screech behind him. Several Bat Bones had activated upon sensing the intruder and were now swooping down at X, their oversized eyes glowing red.

* * *

Zero ducked Vile's punch and thrust out with his saber, catching Vile in the back of the leg. The purple Reploid suddenly revealed hidden flamethrowers in his legs. Zero only had time to raise his hands to shield himself from the worst of it as twin jets of flame emerged from Vile's legs. Rolling away from the inferno, Zero counterattacked by slicing the flamethrower nozzles off Vile's body. Unfazed, Vile jumped away and fired his spike-lined fist, which grew a hard coating of sharp ice as it flew. Zero dodged the projectile, but it kept chasing him. Meanwhile, Vile continued to pound away at the red robot with his other weapons, though he was running low on weapon energy and couldn't do much as his shoulder cannon was gone. Finally Vile launched a single Distance Needler shot, and by sheer luck, it shattered the crystal on Zero's chest.

As the power rapidly drained from his systems, Zero used the remainder of his power to teleport back to Hunter Base just before the massive rocket fist struck him. Once his fist returned Vile also teleported out, with a newfound respect for ice and charged shots.

* * *

X quickly shot down the Bat Bones. However the buster fire had drawn the attention of hundreds of them scattered throughout the bay. X ran down the catwalk, trying to find a way down or out. He didn't find any, and his only way forward was cut off by several lines of Spikies that dropped from the ceiling. Suddenly X noticed an alcove to his right and ducked inside. The wall behind him suddenly gave way and he fell into a hidden room. A dormant capsule behind him whirred to lfie as it sensed his presence, and a hologram appeared.

"So you've come...X, I gave you the freedom to chose your own path in life, and I hoped the world would allow you to chose a peaceful one." X recognized the voice and hologram of his late father. He sounded...disappointed, though given his vision of a robot/human utopia, X could understand.

"...Because I thought the world might need a new champion, I have hidden capsules like this one." X knew that Dr. Light would be proud to see him fulfill his vow, but all the same, the necessity of his inventions was a sad reality.

"...Step into this capsule and recieve an acceleration system to boost your speed." X obliged, and with a flash of light, a pair of white, gold, and blue boots replaced his existing ones. Along with the physical upgrade came a download of information that told X how to use his new boots. X dashed out of the hidden room, and the swarm of Bat Bones immediately re-activated and began chasing him. X dashed through them, cutting down any that got in his way with his buster. Seeing an exit at last, he made his way towards it, blasting a pair of Flammingles in the process. Kicking down the door, he found a Ride Armor and its sleeping operator only a few feet from him. X powered up the walker and pressed on.

Several nearby igloos suddenly began releasing Tombots. A clever disguise, but not clever enough. X smashed them in turn and destroyed the released drones. Suddenly, a Jamminger dove out of nowhere and suicided into the Ride Armor. X looked around and spotted another igloo-like structure on a rise. Using the Ride Armor's dash-jump feature, X reached the rise and smashed the Jamminger holder. X noticed something odd in the wreckage. As he picked it up, he felt some long-dormant instinct take over and place the Heart Tank inside his chest. Immediately, the tank began to store X's excess reactor energy, and within seconds it was fully charged. X remounted his Ride Armor and continued on into a small valley. There was a sudden rumble from above and a massive snowball crushed the machine. X managed to dig himself out, but the Ride Armor was a total loss.

* * *

Chill Penguin watched with dissatisfaction as his minions were mowed down. True, he had only been ranked an A/B Hunter, but he had taken X specifically into account when he built his defenses. His thoughts were interrupted as he heard footsteps behind him.

"Welcome, X! Nervous to return to the place of your demise?"

"Near-demise, Chill Penguin. I ask you as a friend and comrade to stand down. I don't want to fight you."

"Haaaah! Sigma has paid for the use of my power, and besides, fighting you beats sitting in this frozen morgue while being bored out of my mind!"

"How could you say that? What Sigma's doing is wrong!"

"Listen to yourself, X! Acting so high and mighty...you're making me sick!"

"Then...I'm sorry for what I must do, Chill Penguin. Will you surrender when I defeat you?"

Chill Penguin laughed. "_When_ you defeat me! Listen to that arrogance in your voice! It's time I remind you of your place, X!"

Without another word, Chill Penguin opened his mouth and spewed a barrage of ice chunks. While X tried frantically to dodge the onslaught, Chill Penguin's shoulder vents spewed liquid nitrogen, forming a bullet-shaped coating of ice around him. No sooner had the coating formed than Chill Penguin threw himself at X. The latter yelled in pain as the two collided and X went flying into a wall.

Chill Penguin opened his mouth again and the air around him began to freeze into ice sculptures. However, a charged shot to the face from X interrupted the process, and the half-completed statues fell to the floor and shattered. Shaking off the damage, Chill Penguin fired dry ice into the air. Immediately, clouds formed on the ceiling of the room, and X found himself walking against a minature blizzard. Intending to take full advantage of X's limited mobility, Chill Penguin formed the ice coating around him again. X remembered his dash function, which had remained unused during the fight until then. Dash-jumping over the former as he slid under him, X turned around and fired a charged shot at Chill Penguin's back. With a massive explosion of cold air and metal shrapnel, Chill Penguin's liquid nitrogen tank exploded.

X walked over to the shredded remains of the Reploid. "I'm sorry, old friend..."

"Just...do your duty, X, and...finish me..."

"I..."

"X...Sigma will do...it if you don't...Just kill me!" X raised his buster, closed his eyes, looked away, and fired. Chill Penguin's lifeless head hit the floor with a metallic clunk.

X walked over to his friend's lifeless form and whispered: "You fought as well as you ever did as a Hunter, friend. Zero would be proud..." X's voice suddenly trailed off as another old instinct took over and he placed his right arm on Chill Penguin, his variable-tool system copying and adapting the Reploid's freezing unit. With the copying complete, X stood up and bowed his head for a few seconds before teleporting out.

* * *

**Throne Room, Sigma Palace**

Sigma had watched the entire battle between X and Chill Penguin. He had to admit, the blue bomber seemed to have taken his first battle with Vile to heart. Speaking of Vile...Sigma's eyes narrowed in anger as a repair droid walked in and notified him that they had finished repairing the purple Reploid.

"Good. Bring him in here."

As Vile walked in, Sigma noticed that even his arrogant demeanor had cracked slightly. Sensing Sigma's anger towards Vile, Velguarder growled as the latter was brought in.

"Vile...I need your help..." Sigma spoke in a calm tone. Vile looked at Sigma with what was unmistakably confusion. Sigma continued, "Yes, I do indeed need your help. _Help deciding what I should kill you for first!_" With blinding speed, Sigma rose from his chair, drew his saber, grabbed Vile, and slashed off one of the latter's arms with one swipe, stopping with the sword just above Vile's neck. "Not only did you disobey my orders to remain at the palace, you attacked Chill Penguin for your own means, foolishly challenged Zero _and_ X, and _dared to return to me alive after all that!_" Sigma slashed off another one of Vile's limbs for every offense. The repair droid could only stare in astonishment. Nobody had ever seen their leader so unhinged. Even Velguarder was keeping its distance, though it continued to growl at Vile.

_"What do you have to say for yourself, Vile?!"_ Sigma's voice filled the throne room. Vile looked away, afraid to meet Sigma's eyes for fear he would cut his head off for such impudence. The standoff continued for a few tense minutes before Sigma sheathed his saber and dropped Vile. Returning to his throne, Sigma ordered: "Take this coward away from my sight! All of him!" Several repair droids scrambled to pick up Vile's severed limbs before hastily exiting. Sigma sighed and absentmindedly scratched Velguarder's ears. He took no pleasure from what had just happened; he would much rather be fighting humans as a unified front. However, discipline had to be maintained for that unified front to exist...

* * *

**Hunter Base**

As X exited the teleporter array, he immediately ran to the repair bay. Zero had already been repaired and was walking out as X arrived.

"Hey! I watched you take out Chill Penguin. Nicely done!" Zero smiled at his friend, then looked down at his boots. "Nice shoes."

"A little gift from my old man." X sighed as he thought about what could have possibly convinced Dr. Light that building such things would be necessary 100 years ago. "Now I can dash like you! Maybe you aren't so special!" X teased. They both smiled at that. "So, what were you doing at the missile base?"

Zero sighed. "I was in the general vicinity; Sigma's fortress happens to be nearby you know. I happened to notice you were in the area so I was monitoring you to see if you needed help."

"Thanks Zero, I owe you one again. How are you feeling? Did Vile rough you up badly?"

"X, thanks for your concern, but I'm not made of glass. Nah, the prick just scored a lucky hit. Got some sort of range upgrade for his autocannon; I didn't recall it had that much hitting power at that range..."

X changed the subject. "So...are you going to go back to tracking Sigma?"

Zero nodded. "Yeah, I want to gather some intel on his fortress before we go charging in there. Who are you going after next?"

X sighed. "I don't think I'll regret any mission as much as the next one. I'm...going after Storm Eagle."

* * *

**Author's Note: Tsk tsk, Vile. Several people wanted to see more of him, so I spliced him in here. And because the "Not a Charged Shot!" meme needs some explaining, there's your explanation as to why Vile's deathly afraid of charged shots. :P**

**I hope you guys enjoyed the Chill Penguin adaptation! I changed the stage layout quite a bit because I gave this place its _Maverick Hunter X_ description, but the description doesn't fit Chill Penguin's stage from either game. Thus, I also had to re-located the dash boots. Hopefully I made it so for the better. Most of the other stages will recieve alterations too, but not on such a large scale.**

**I decided to write this while I had the time and since nobody seemed to give a response besides "Chill Penguin", I decided to implement an order suggested by speedrunners for the sake of minimal backtracking. The only backtracking with this order is actually going back to Chill Penguin's stage for the Heart Tank, which I decided to rewrite because I'd already changed the stage drastically.**

**As always, please rate and review! I'd especially appreciate any feedback with regard to the boss battle and dialogues; trying to keep my characters accurate and the boss battles unique but still within recognizable limits is my goal!**


	4. Grounded

**Author's note: I started on "Grounded" and "Put on Ice" at about the same time, so I had this one about half done by the time I finished "Put on Ice". The chapters won't come so close together starting from now.**

* * *

**_Death_ _Rogumer_, Abel City Airport**

Storm Eagle watched from the _Death Rogumer_'s bridge as a platoon of military tanks advanced onto the tarmac. A shame that the humans got themselves involved; his had been the only location besides Chill Penguin's where zero human casualties had occured during the Maverick takeover.

"They're firing!" the deck officer aboard the warship called. The tanks' shells exploded against the airship's shields, but the _Death Rogumer_'s defenses held. Storm Eagle ordered the ship to ascend out of range. Storm Eagle noted that they had failed to bring a SAM battery with them. Maybe he could convince them it was a hopeless fight...

"Attempt to hail them." He would not have human blood on his hands if he could help it.

"Sir, you can't be serious! They're already firing and you want to negotiate?!"

"You heard me, officer. Hail them." To his surprise, the platoon commander responded. The face spelled bad news. He looked just like her, if she had been male.

"Well, well. I didn't expect the mighty Storm Eagle to be behind this."

"Neither did I expect you, lieutenant. Sigma has ways of surprising us all."

"So you don't deny you've gone Maverick?"

"I don't deny that I am working for Sigma."

"Then why are you doing this if you're not a Maverick?"

"That is a personal matter, lieutenant. If not for the fact that Sigma is eavesdropping on my every word I would tell you why."

"Pah! Listen to you! You sound like a Maverick in denial! Either way, it doesn't matter. You've attacked humans..."

"And I would remind you that nobody has been harmed."

"Regardless, you've taken territory by force. I have nothing more to say to you, Storm Eagle. I wish I could spare you, but we both have our orders. Goodbye, old friend."

Storm Eagle looked down for a few seconds before raising his head and giving the command to fire. While the tanks couldn't hope to hit the airship at its current altitude, _Death Rogumer_'s weapons had no trouble reaching them. Guided rockets and precision-aimed laser fire rained down on the tanks, obliterating them where they stood. Storm Eagle ordered the gunners to cease fire as the last of the tanks exploded and the surviving personnel fled across the tarmac. He ignored the questioning looks of his crew and stared down at the burning tanks. He hoped Teal's brother had managed to escape...

* * *

**Terminal 1001, Abel City Airport**

X teleported onto the tarmac into the midst of a chaotic scene. A couple dozen uniformed people were running across the tarmac from the burning wreckage of what X presumed was their vehicles. He couldn't believe his old friend would do something like this.

His thoughts were quickly distracted by the arrival of several Sky Claws, who had been looting a nearby truck. X shot them down without hesitation. X could already see these drones were going to be a problem, as Storm Eagle had cut away any access to the roof, leaving X with only a rickety lift system to ascend. Silently, X thanked his friend for at least giving him a way up. It meant that Storm Eagle wasn't completely listening to Sigma (**A/N: Yes, X is aware of Teal and her situation**) despite his tenuous situation, something X had to give the avian Reploid credit for.

X suddenly noticed another Heart Tank lying atop the one of the jetways on the other side of the terminal. As he dash-jumped to reach the Heart Tank, he wondered who could have put it there in the first place. Maybe Sigma? After all, he wanted to see X's true potential. But why would he undermine his own rebellion by doing this? It definately couldn't be any of the Hunters or the eight Maverick generals; the former were too thinly spread for that, and some of the latter downright hated him. Once he had picked up and installed the tank, he realized that there were eight Heart Tank slots. His sense of history had told him that Dr. Light's rival, Dr. Wily, had always attacked with eight generals leading his armies. Clearly the number had significance for Dr. Light, which would make sense as to why there were eight. But how could the tanks be placed in their locations?

* * *

**Control Tower, Abel City Airport**

Storm Eagle watched his friend make his way to the top of the terminal building. A noise behind him made him turn around and he sighed in annoyance. The _Death Rogumer_'s first officer had insisted upon placing a Gun Volt here. Storm Eagle sighed and dropped his subtank off inside the building, looking around to make sure nobody, including the Gun Volt, was watching. A single subtank was bestowed to the most valuable Hunters to give them extended endurance in battle, and it could be recharged by absorbing energy from the power cells of opponents. Storm Eagle had left his here in the hope that it would give X a better chance at doing what he could not: save Teal.

X arrived moments later, surprising the Gun Volt by firing at it from behind. The walker never had a chance to react. X noticed the subtank and his eyes widened with understanding. It was only bestowed to S-ranked Hunters, the best of the best. Storm Eagle must have left his here intentionally. X sighed again and stared at the _Death Rogumer_, wondering how many more times he would end up in Storm Eagle's debt.

* * *

Storm Eagle flew up to the _Death Rogumer_, but did not enter. He simply flapped his wings to keep him aloft, staring out over the vast expanses of the airport and the concrete jungle that was Abel City beyond. He could even see a vague outline of Sigma's fortress in the mountains to the north. For a minute, he simply stayed airborne, taking in the view and feeling the wind rush past him. During moments like this, he felt truly at peace. Able to forget any problems, no matter how pressing. Storm Eagle suddenly looked at the ground. If he just let himself fall...no, he thought. Sigma might keep Teal alive if he died in combat, but if he took the easy way out, she would be killed for sure. Storm Eagle resignedly landed on the exterior of the _Death Rogumer_ to await his opponent. He felt the airship descend to the top of the airport's unfinished expansion and knew X must be close.

* * *

At the foot of the massive tower, X looked up as a shadow was cast over him. It seemed Storm Eagle wasn't going to back down.

Suddenly a stack of propane cylinders arranged as a wall caught his attention. There seemed to be no enemies guarding it. It seemed almost too perfect, even considering who was commanding the army here. Regardless, X went over to the stack. Realizing that he'd have to destroy the cylinders to move on, X switched to the weapon he'd copied from Chill Penguin, Shotgun Ice. X thought that the ice would crack the metal casing on the cylinders, and he was proven dead wrong.

Instead of freezing and cracking the cylinder, the Shotgun Ice projectile had fragmented upon hitting the barrel stack, scattering into five fragments and dissapating much of its power. X tried again. This time, there was a small crack. He fired two more Shotgun Ice projectiles before following up with charged shot for good measure. The barrels exploded in surprisingly small blasts. X proceeded down the passageway he had just opened up. A small drop lead him to another capsule. This time, there was no formal introduction from the doctor. X wondered if the capsules were somehow linked.

"This capsule contains an enhancement for your helmet, which will allow you to break some ceilings with a headbutt." the voice of Dr. Light explained. X waited for more, but when the hologram of his father faded X realized there was nothing more and stepped into the capsule. Another flash of light, and X's helmet was suddenly rimmed in white with golden reinforcements ringing the sides. X also noticed the soles and rims of his feet had recieved a similar alteration. The data downloaded with the parts informed him that he could also break said ceilings by wall-jumping, though X wasn't exactly sure how that worked. The data had also included a scanner that allowed him to pick up objects that could be destroyed in this manner. He looked up and the detector went haywire with responses. X decided to try his new ability out.

Though he was expecting pain when his head smashed into the ceiling, X felt almost nothing. He could feel the resistance of hitting the blocks and pieces falling on his helmet when they shattered, but the helmet absorbed the shocks of hitting the ceiling almost completely. Satisfied with his new upgrade, X ventured out of the room and proceeded to climb the unfinished tower. _"What were they planning to build here that could be so tall?"_

As he reached the top, X discovered a rather strange and grisly sight. His own head seemed to be grinning at him from further up. X tore his eyes away from the image and began blasting through a group of Mets and Sky Claws. Working his way up to where he'd seen the image of the head, X realized it was a repair kit. It could completely restore him if he came close to death without costing Hunter HQ any resources. _"Must've been Vile's idea to make this thing in the shape of my head; even Sigma wouldn't be that sadistic."_

X continued to ascend the half-built tower, dodging Mets and Sky Claws as he went. When he reached the top, he discovered the _Death Rogumer_ was almost level with the floor, and the approach to the airship consisted of falling platforms guarded by flamethrower turrets. He also saw Storm Eagle waiting for him atop the airship. As he watched, the Reploid seemed to be in an argument with someone over his radio. Suddenly, a tornado shot from Storm Eagle's right hand and destroyed all the turrets guarding the approach to the airship. X shook himself out of his reverie as several Deerballs approached him. Dashing between their legs, he leapt from platform to platform before finally landing on the front of the _Death Rogumer_. But Storm Eagle didn't come down to fight him. X realized there was only one way forward, and that was to go inside the airship.

* * *

Storm Eagle sighed as he watched X enter the airship and heard the surprised cries of several officers followed by an exchange of buster fire. Of course the fools hadn't listened to his orders to back down. He watched as X rolled off the side of the airship. Storm Eagle realized what the blue bomber was up to, and his suspicions were confirmed when the X climbed into the troop bay elevator. Within a few seconds, the elevator had whisked him to the top of the ship where Storm Eagle was waiting.

"Hello, X. I see you managed to circumvent most of my airship's defenses. Well done; I always knew you were a warrior at heart."

"Storm Eagle...even a Reploid like you...?"

"X, we both know why I have to do this. I can't let her die..."

"Your love is blinding your sense of morality! What happened to the noble Reploid I used to look up to?" the pain in X's voice was palpable.

Storm Eagle, lost in his thoughts, didn't reply. When the latter had first joined the Hunters, he had taken him under his wing as X's mentor. Before the emotions caught up to him, before Teal...

"Answer me, Storm Eagle!"

"X...I...I must fight you. To the death. That's the only chance she has to live."

"I promise to help her, Storm Eagle, but my help won't mean anything unless there's still a lover for her to see! You believe I can do it; I see it in your eyes! Why else would you leave me your subtank? There's a chance Teal may live if you chose to fight to the death, but she'll spend the rest of her life knowing that you threw your life away! Can you bring something like that upon the one you love?"

"Don't lecture me, X! You know nothing of love!" Storm Eagle sounded angrier than X had ever heard him. X suddenly noticed the silver gleam of a ring on his only hand and it made sense to him. The Reploid turned away and his wings and shoulders suddenly slumped. "If I am to give Teal the best chance of surviving, I must fight you, X. She is not a Reploid. I would rather take the chance that Sigma would not rebuild me than risk seeing her executed. Let us see how well my training has prepared you!"

With that, Storm Eagle resumed a straight stance. Several fins extended themselves from his arm cannon and began to suck in air while the mechanisms inside focused them into a tight jet of wind. Storm Eagle raised his arm and released the tornado. The strong beam of wind almost pushed X off the side of the _Death Rogumer_, but he refused to fight back. He couldn't just kill his mentor...

But it was clear Storm Eagle had put his qualms behind him. As soon as X pulled himself back onto the top of the airship, he heard a screaming sound and Storm Eagle's talons ripped into his armor. His talons didn't penetrate, but the strike knocked X to the ground. Recovering, X raised his buster and fired into the sky at the rapidly receding black dot. The shots missed, and X impatiently waited for the _Death Rogumer_'s ascent to bring him within buster range. Storm Eagle, however, was not so limited in range. X frantically wove back and forth across the roof of the airship as Storm Eagle launched volley after volley of razor feathers after him. One feather hit the reinforcement ring on the side of his helmet, but instead of piercing the helmet and killing X as Storm Eagle feared it would, it bounced off with a _ping_. X tried to ignore the resonating vibration as Storm Eagle landed and began to flap his wings. Through his hazy conciousness, he realized he was being pushed off the airship. Using his dash to counter the pushing force, X fired a charged shot at one of Storm Eagle's wings. The Reploid saw it coming from a mile away and lowered the wing so the shot sailed harmelssly past.

_"If I can't shoot him while he's moving, I'll have to get him to stop,"_ X thought. Switching to Shotgun Ice, he fired the projectile at Storm Eagle's wing joint. It worked better than he could have hoped for; with nowhere for the split pellets to go, they froze his right wing in place. Storm Eagle's eyes widened upon realizing his mobility was gone, and X began to fire on him with a hail of buster pellets. Storm Eagle dodged as best as he could, but many of the projectiles still struck his body and wings. His autorepair systems could fix the damage to his wings quickly, but the right one remained frozen. Storm Eagle angled himself to catch the next buster shot on his right wing joint, hoping to melt the ice. The impact caused damage to the sensitive wing joint, but at least they functioned again. He immediately took off, hurling an egg from his mouth as he climbed to keep X's buster away from him. X looked up after he'd dispatched the birds that had hatched from it, but Storm Eagle wasn't there. Storm Eagle streaked in from behind X, and, just before he was about to crash into him, flipped himself talons-over-head and folded his wings. The result was another deadly talon strike to the back; this time, the talons penetrated X's armor and sliced apart his internal systems. Storm Eagle immediately fired a tornado out of his arm cannon to blow X off the side. X managed to duck the tornado and replied with a charge shot, but Storm Eagle dodged it. The latter took to the air again, firing off his razor feathers to keep X busy. This time, X never stopped scanning the skies, sweeping his buster arm back and forth.

_"Damn,"_ thought Storm Eagle, _"He's adapting to my fighting style.__" _He suddenly dived as if he were coming from above, and X began to fire on him. Suddenly Storm Eagle folded his wings and plunged under the airship before coming up from behind X, leaving behind another egg to distract him. As he emerged on the opposite side, he raised his right arm and fired another tornado as he charged at X. But this time, the blue bomber was ready for him. Dash-jumping the tornado and Storm Eagle, he blasted the avian Reploid's back with a charge shot. Storm Eagle's sensitive wing joints were completely destroyed by the blast, and he clumsily crashed into the roof of his airship. He managed to recover, but he knew the odds were now in X's favor. In a desperate last move, he pointed his right arm straight up and fired before retreating to the edge of the roof.

"I'd say your training did prepare me, my old mentor." X's voice was calm, but tinged with pain as he advanced towards Storm Eagle with his buster trained.

"You forgot the first lesson I taught you, X. Never be complacent in combat."

The airship caught up to Storm Eagle's last tornado, and X had walked right into it. The vicious wind began to peel off X's shredded armor and rip at his exposed circuits. Once it had expired, the tornado uncermoniously dumped him right in front of Storm Eagle's talons.

"Well..." X's voice was dazed and filled with pain, both physical and emotional. "It...seems...you're still...the better warrior..."

"No...X...you might not feel it...but I see it in you..." his former mentor's voice was weak. He was more badly damaged than he had let on. Storm Eagle opened a panel on his arm cannon and removed a small chip. "It's my weapon data...Take it...you'll need it..."

"Storm Eagle...thank-"

Suddenly, Storm Eagle's eyes changed. The normally green pupils had been replaced by Sigma's emblem. He lashed out with his talons, cutting through both of X's feet. Reflexively, X shot Storm Eagle in the face with a charged shot. The impact flipped the Reploid over and off the edge, and he was now hanging on with his left hand. The shock freed him of the Sigma Virus's override, and his eyes returned to normal before X could notice the change. X ran to the edge and looked at his former mentor, horrified at his betrayal, but unwilling to let him die.

"X...promise me...Promise me that you'll save her!" Storm Eagle begged. X felt tears welling up in his eyes as he realized what Storm Eagle was about to do. Slowly, he nodded his head while grabbing Storm Eagle's hand with both of his own.

"I'll make it happen, Storm Eagle. You didn't fight in vain." X's conviction made Storm Eagle smile even as a tear fell onto the latter's helmet as X spoke.

"Your determination...drives you to heights beyond what...we Reploids...could ever dream of...Use it...Maverick Hunter X..." X's pride at being recognized by his old mentor quickly faded when he noticed Storm Eagle was also on the verge of tears. When X nodded his acknowledgement, Storm Eagle's sad smile broadened and he began to pry his fingers from X's hands.

"Then I will die the way I would most prefer to: for the protection of my dear Teal. Goodbye, my old friend." Without another word, Storm Eagle jerked his hand out of his friend's grasp.

_"NO! Storm Eagle! STORM EAGLE!"_ X screamed, the tears now flowing freely. But there was nothing he could do except watch as his mentor and friend of many years fell through the clouds and disappeared.

* * *

**Throne Room, Sigma Palace**

Sigma watched the events unfold through one of the _Death Rogumer_'s remaining functional cameras with interest. He could have cared less about Storm Eagle's death; though he was a good lieutenant Sigma hadn't forgotten that he had to blackmail him into joining his rebellion. He was more interested in X's reaction. He had known the avian Reploid had taken X in when the latter first signed up to be a Hunter but hadn't known their relationship was so close. Sigma watched as X remained frozen, staring at the place where Storm Eagle had fallen with tears running down his cheeks. Yes, he did feel much more deeply than any other Reploid. Now it was time to see what those feelings could do.

Sigma triggered the _Death Rogumer_'s self-destruct. The airship was no use to him without a highly specialized and trained crew to man it; thanks to X, that crew was dead. When the first explosion rocked the ship, X stood up and performed the traditional Maverick Hunter salute as a final tribute. He stood with his fists clenched for a few more moments, then teleported out as the falling airship reached terminal velocity.

Not the physical reaction Sigma was hoping for, but he would see the results of X's anger soon enough. He turned around and looked at Teal, who had been bound, gagged, and forced to watch everything. Until that point, she had been crying silently for the entire duration of her lover's battle with one of her closest friends. Upon seeing the Reploid leader focus on her, she stopped crying and fixed him with a stare of hate.

"Not to fear, he isn't dead." Sigma's voice was softer than she could have imagined for such an evil-looking being. "We can bring him back..." he let his words hang in the air as he walked out of the throne room, Velguarder lapping at his heels. When the wolf passed her it attempted to bite her foot off, but Sigma immediately clubbed it across the head with one of his hands and dragged Velguarder away.

"Undo all her restraints but keep watch over her. Give her as much time as she needs before you return her to her cell," Sigma ordered to the guards standing outside.

Sigma walked to the palace's hangar bays. The twice-repaired Vile was loitering near the entrance. Upon his entering, every robot stopped and looked at him. He simply nodded and the androids returned to work. The Reploids, however, continued to look at him. He knew what they wanted to ask. He looked the assembled Reploids in the eye to show he understood their silent inquiry and nodded before exiting the hangar. As he had predicted, the implicit announcement of Storm Eagle's death was met with cries of disbelief and angry taunts towards X, but nothing deeper than that. _"I know that he feels differently and uniquely; now I need to know why and how._"

* * *

**Prison, Sigma Palace**

Though Storm Eagle wasn't with her, the guards treated Teal respectfully upon her return though they hadn't when she was escorted to the throne room. They must've already heard. The warden personally opened her cell door, and was careful to close it without slamming it. They had even left the slits on the door open to give her some light and against prison protocool. However, she had requested they close them and they had obeyed.

Only once the slits were closed did Teal begin to cry again. She didn't know whether to believe Sigma's words that they could bring her lover back or not: on one hand, she desperately wanted to see Storm Eagle again, but on the other, she was afraid of what might happen if he couldn't be brought _completely_ back. The first aspects of Reploid personality to be damaged were always compassion and caring, so it wouldn't take much...Teal silenced her own pessimistic thoughts. If there was even a chance that Storm Eagle could be brought back, she would take it. Except if it meant obeying Sigma or fighting X.

X...he'd been one of her best friends since Storm Eagle had introduced them to each other, and now he had killed her lover. But Teal felt no anger towards him; she had seen how he'd tried to reason with Storm Eagle and the tears he'd shed for his mentor. She'd also seen Storm Eagle give him his subtank and entrust the rescue of his love to X. He was as much Sigma's victim as she was. And now, he was her only hope.

She just wished this revolution would end. The old parable was that the first casualty of war was morality. And so, her righteous, headstrong boyfriend had been among the first to perish, dying by falling from the sky he'd always felt so at home in, betrayed by the very element that gave him his power. It was as if fate was mocking her in every way possible. In that moment of reflection, rage boiled up inside her like never before, and Teal made a silent vow to see Sigma dead for this. But for the moment, all she could do was bang her fists on the wall and cry her eyes out for her lost love.

* * *

**Author's note: So this chapter came out darker than I intially thought it would. I hope I gave Storm Eagle the battle he deserved, and Shotgun Ice enough time to showcase it. As always, please rate and review.**

**Also, yes, Teal's brother is alive and she knows it. That's why she isn't holding anything against Storm Eagle.**

**Rest in peace, Storm Eagle...**


	5. Burned

**Author's note: I didn't show X's reaction to Storm Eagle's death in "Grounded" because I didn't want to make an insanely long chapter.**

**I have had some idea of what I wanted to write before I started "Variable X", so this one will probably be over relatively quickly.**

* * *

**Hunter Base, the next day**

X sighed and pulled a picture out of his pod, where he had been resting after being repaired. So far, the Hunters had been unable to locate Storm Eagle's remains per X's request. The only place they hadn't checked was where the _Death Rogumer_ finally landed: in a power plant that Spark Mandrill was known to be fortifying. X looked at the picture: it was him, Storm Eagle, and Sigma after X's indoctrination into the Hunters. Before Storm Eagle had met Teal. Before Sigma had his fateful duel with Zero.

X heard footsteps and saw Zero walk in. His friend didn't say anything; he just placed his hand on X's shoulder and stood with him for a few minutes, determinedly not looking at the picture. Not so much out of jealousy at his best friend having other compaions as guilt for causing the rebellion that had now claimed two of the three occupants of the photo. Zero figured X needed to think about something else. "Dr. Cain said he might be able to adapt your dash boots into your standard feet. Something about a provision for it being included in their design. Look, X...we need to get moving again. Those Maverick armies aren't going to stop themselves. I'll go with you this time if you want." X looked up in surprise.

"We can't afford to wait on account of your emotions, X, and I figured since we'd throw you back in one way or another you should have someone accompany you until you recover. Besides, Sigma got wise to me spying on his fortress so I can't go back for a little bit."

"Zero...thanks. But I'll be fine. You could help more by taking on another Maverick general at the same time."

"Sigma's put out a red alert for me; I can't step anywhere near one of those places without drawing every single one of his minions within a twenty-mile radius. At least let me keep an eye on you in case you get in trouble. Now who were you planning on going after next?"

"I was thinking either Flame Mammoth or Boomer Kuwanger."

"I'd go with the former; you know the slag that he flooded the floor of his factory with? It's frozen somehow; that'll make it easier for you to get through. And Kuwanger's a quick bastard; if you can barely keep up with Storm Eagle you're going to get slaughtered." At the mention of Storm Eagle, X turned away. Zero cursed his lack of tact. Though he considered himself good at conversations for a combat robot, Dr. Wily hadn't exactly built him with development of those functions in mind. "C'mon X, remember that the world's counting on you." At his friend's reminder, X stepped out of his pod and took one last look at the photo in his hand.

_"I won't let your sacrifice be in vain, Storm Eagle. I just hope we can find and rebuild you before Sigma does..."_

* * *

**Reploid Production Plant 3, Industrial Sector, Abel City**

The first thing X was aware of was a lack of heat. He was standing on a section of floor that had been raised before the factory was flooded with slag, or what had once been slag. Now, cool, hardened metal coated the factory floor in its place. X looked ahead and almost immediately felt sick. Not on account of his emotions, but at the sight in front of him. Half-completed Reploid torsos, outfitted with crude laser cannons on their heads, were being dropped from several vents in the ceiling. The assembly line conveyor belts were still working, but several sections had been removed, and the half-finished Reploids were unceremoniously dumped off the side, where they shattered against the solid metal floor.

If anything could've worsened X's depression after Storm Eagle's death, this was it. Taking advantage of this, a Sky Claw suddenly nabbed him and began carrying him across the expanse of the factory floor. X didn't resist and stared blankly ahead, refusing to take in the horrifice waste of Reploid life surrounding him. As it reached another elevated section of floor, the Sky Claw self-destructed. The shrapnel was mostly deflected off of X's thin energy shields, but several pieces managed to lodge in his armor. The reactive plating on his armor tried to repair the breaches, and one of his Heart Tanks suddenly kicked into action, diverting its energy reserve towards the regeneration. The exertion left the tank unable to be recharged by reactor power alone; it would require functioning power cells to jump-start its recharging, but it had done its job well. The shrapnel was absorbed by X's armor and the material repurposed into a seamless patch. Within seconds it looked as though there had never been any damage there.

X was unaware of the fantastic workings his body was performing to counteract the damage. He simply stood there, anger boiling inside him as he watched Reploid after half-completed Reploid smashed against the hardened slag on the floor.

* * *

From the plant's security office, both Flame Mammoth and Vile watched X with distaste.

"Huh, guess those victories of his were just luck after all. Though it must have taken a heck of a lot of luck to beat...hey, what are you doing?" Flame Mammoth noticed Vile was adapting his arm-mounted flamethrower for the latter's own use.

"Just shut up. I didn't harm you. Now, for some target practice." Vile began testing out his adapted weapons systems and weighing which adaptation he should use for each system. After a little while, he settled on a final arsenal. "And now, time to give X a wake-up call."

"Hmph!" Flame Mammoth watched Vile leave before examining his flamethrower. Vile had held to his word for once; he could detect no signs of damage, visually and with a self-diagnostic.

* * *

Vile crept quietly along a catwalk above the factory floor and arrived just in time to see X drop down to the lower level of the factory. Vile cursed his luck and began searching for another way down.

X's scanners were begging to get his attention, but he ignored them, a task made easier by his raging emotions. He simply walked forward like a mindless zombie, his mind drowned in a sea of rage and sorrow. When he came to the edge of another frozen slag pit, he stopped and looked around. There were no Reploids here, just several dozen Degravers, the successor to the highly successful Picket Man invented by his father. They didn't seem to be paying him any attention, so he took a moment to calm his emotions. Just then, Vile dropped silently down the shaft X had taken. Before he could get any closer, Zero short-teleported off to his side and shoulder-bashed Vile into a wall. Without a word, Vile teleported out before he was thrown into the wall. He couldn't go back to Sigma damaged again.

Zero collided with the wall with several curses of frustration and pain as several dense cubes of scrap fell from the ceiling onto him. The noise startled X, and he whirled around to see his friend.

"Vile's trying to pick a fight again. Looks like he's looking to avoid direct confrontation this time; maybe Sigma's tired of footing his repair bill." X forced a smile at Zero's attempt to cheer him up. "Damn blocks...they're a hell of a lot stronger than they look..."

X looked up at where they had fallen from. Suddenly he realized why his sensors had acted up. He just needed to find a way to get up there...

Zero watched incredulously as his friend headbutted the scrap blocks and they shattered like glass. Eventually X reached the top of the pile and disappeared. Zero continued to monitor the small horde of Degravers for any aggressive moves. Suddenly they began to fan out. Zero was about to ignite his saber to cut them down when he realized they were resuming defensive positions. "X, they're moving into defensive posi...X? X?!" Zero became increasingly worried when his friend didn't respond. "C'mon, don't tell me you need to be saved again!" Zero short-teleported to where he'd seen X disappear...

...and was almost slammed in the face by the strangest-looking plasma blast he had ever seen. It consisted of two massive chains of large red plasma shots, each about half the size of his charged shot, moving in a sinosudal pattern. "Geez, you're the one who's going to need saving soon if you keep doing that, Zero." Zero suddenly noticed X's buster had changed...now it was identical to his own.

"When are you ever going to stop being a copycat?" Zero joked.

"Maybe Dr. Wily copied Dr. Light like he always does." Zero realized X had taken his joke seriously.

"Sorry X, I didn't mean to insult your father...anyhow, that small army of Degravers down there has taken up defensive positions."

"Perfect. I can have some target practice with charged weapons." Zero wasn't quite sure what X meant until he noticed the latter had changed from his standard blue scheme to a purple one.

"X, wait!" Before Zero could stop him, X jumped down from the Light Capsule's room and dashed to meet the Degravers head-on. X realized they were scattered on platforms of different heights. Perfect, if the weapon data he had copied from Storm Eagle was accurate. As he jumped over a pair of the pickaxe-wielding droids, X unleashed a massive vortex of wind around his body. The column of raging wind quickly expanded, and within a second a massive floor-to-ceiling column of tempestuous wind had shredded more than a dozen of the surprised Degravers. Yes, it was.

Zero stared in shock, his eyes as wide as those of the remaining Degravers. Several of the mining bots backed off the side of their platforms and fell to their demise in shock. X turned around and broke into a grin at seeing his friend's expression. He then noticed a pair of Mets two platforms above him were regarding him uncertainly. He also noticed a stack of scrap cubes adjacent to them, embedded in the wall. Taking advantage of the minions' uncertainty, X jumped to the wall and ascended it before breaking the blocks with his feet and head. _"So I found a way to break 'ceilings' with my feet after all,"_ he thought with a slight smile. Inside, X found another subtank.

_"Figures that a mighty glacier like Flame Mammoth would need one of these; must be hard to dodge when your body weighs more than a speeder bike..."_

As X picked up the subtank and installed it in a separate crevice in his chest out of habit, Zero radioed him: "Feeling better?" X looked down at his friend and gave him a thumbs-up. "Good, because these minions are starting to recognize me. I'll lead as many of them away as I can; you go after Flame Mammoth!"

"Good luck buddy, E-Tanks are on me when we get back to Hunter Base," X replied.

"Bah, we get those for free anyway. Besides, we're on permanent duty until this blows over." X could already hear shots in the background as Flame Mammoth's army chased Zero and made a noise somewhere between a chuckle and a sigh. Leave it to his friend to end a conversation that way. X suddenly spotted a Heart Tank in the corner of the now-empty room and went over to grab it.

* * *

Flame Mammoth watched incredulously as his minions disobeyed his orders and purused Zero, leaving only a few Hoganmers, several pipes leaking acid, and the immovable Rolling Gabyools as defense. Though he knew they wouldn't be enough to stop even a C-ranked Hunter, he was still taken off guard when X easily crushed the first two Hoganmers with a massive red blast...no, a massive chain of red plasma shots. He had no idea how the blue bomber had done it, but that didn't matter. He smashed the wall of monitors in frustration and walked out to meet X. His defenses might be a cakewalk for X, but he was an A-ranked Hunter. He would not admit defeat to a such a weakling so easily.

* * *

X dash-jumped over the last Hoganmer guarding Flame Mammoth, ignoring its taunts to fight him chivalrously in barely-understandable medieval English. He grudgingly appreciated Sigma's penchant for small historical references such as those and stepped into a massive room with a conveyor belt and what he presumed used to be lava in the background. Now the floor had hardened into a massive sea of spikes. Flame Mammoth was waiting for him.

Upon seeing X, Flame Mammoth gave a trumpeting laugh. "I didn't expect the Hunters to send _you_ of all people."

"Flame Mammoth, I came because I though I could convince you to return instead of fighting you. The Hunters need a fighter like you in times like this."

"Do you even realize from who's mouth this is coming from? A weak, overemotional, spineless B-class Hunter that Sigma falsely believes in."

"Why do my characteristics matter to you? The point is I don't want to fight my fellow Hunters if I can avoid it..."

"...Because you know I'll stomp your skinny blue ass to dust if you try! If I hadn't seen that little trick you pulled against some of my guards earlier I would consider you a waste of my time."

"If you must know, Flame Mammoth, I came because no other Hunter would have given you the chance to come back. We know that not all of you are working for Sigma of your own accord."

"If the Hunters know so much about me, they wouldn't send a weakling with a mouth bigger than his gun. Do you miss your friend Storm Eagle, X?"

X felt his emotions rising again and fought to keep them down. He couldn't lose control again. "Yes, I do, Flame Mammoth. He...was working for Sigma too...I killed him..."

Flame Mammoth's eyes widened by a fraction of an inch, but his voice was all bravado. "Then let me organize a reunion for you two: in the scrapheap!"

The massive Reploid shot a glob of oil from his trunk, and followed up by spraying more at X from his right arm. X was caught in the viscous spray and slipped on the conveyor belt. Thankfully, it was extremely wide to handle Flame Mammoth's weight and also extended from wall to wall along its thin side, so rolling off the side into the slag spikes on the floor wouldn't be a big concern. He suddenly noticed the slick of oil almost connected him and Flame Mammoth. As soon as the thought registered, the latter ignited the slick with a fireball, from his arm, and the conveyor belt was suddenly engulfed in flames. X screamed in agony as the fire began to melt his armor and tried to ignore the pain as he charged a Storm Tornado. Once he released the attack, the winds quickly doused the flames and blew the remaining oil off his partially-melted armor.

X noticed Flame Mammoth's eyes had widened noticably upon seeing this. He dashed out of the way as the latter came crashing down on the conveyor belt, the heavy shock causing the machinery beneath to groan audibly and knocking X off his feet. He turned around to launch more fireballs at X, only to be met with a wind beam to the face. The gust of wind tightly wrapped his trunk around his head twice and extinguished the fireballs in their tracks. Flame Mammoth trumpeted and the conveyor belt switched directions, now bringing X towards him. Shaking his trunk loose again, Flame Mammoth began laying down another oil slick. This time, the fluid was less viscous and flowed more freely, and X scrambled to get away from the combustible liquid. Simultaneously, Flame Mammoth put his flamethrower to the ground and shot a fireball at the base of the slick. The result was a massive wave of fire that engulfed almost the entire conveyor belt. X yelped in surprise and quickly scaled a wall to avoid the inferno, but not before discharging another Storm Tornado.

Flame Mammoth growled in frustration and shook off the attack. He aimed his flamethrower and began lobbing fireballs. X dash-jumped off the wall to avoid the deadly firewall Flame Mammoth had set before hitting him with his newest weapon: the Spiral Crush Buster. Flame Mammoth's eyes almost popped out of their sockets as he was slammed by the massive chain of plasma shots. They struck his body without respite, rupturing his armor and fuel tanks. Flame Mammoth collapsed to the edge of the conveyor belt, leaking oil everywhere but still alive and very angry. As X approached, he lashed out violently with his trunk, trying to knock the blue bomber into the slag spikes bordering the conveyor belt.

"Geez, what the heck are you made of?" X asked as he leapt over the swinging trunk. He began charging another Spiral Crush as he spoke. "I'm giving you one last chance, Flame Mammoth. Surrender and I promise I'll take you back to Hunter Base to be repaired."

"Urgh...you win..." Flame Mammoth held out his hand and X grasped it, only to have the former throw him facefirst into the oil slick before setting them both on fire. "I will not fall to a wimp like you! I'm taking you with me, X!" As X flailed in agony in the midst of the inferno, Flame Mammoth grabbed him with his hand and prepared to throw him into the slag spikes. But before he could, X unleashed another charged Storm Tornado, extinguishing the flames and ripping apart the surprised Reploid. The conveyor belt ground to a halt and X lay prone for a few more seconds before staggering to his feet and copying Flame Mammoth's weapon data and teleporting out, in too much pain to say anything more.

* * *

**Throne room, Sigma Palace**

Sigma winced as he watched Flame Mammoth's last, desperate act. He had survived saber cuts, charged shots, and many more during his years as both Hunter Commander and Maverick leader, but he had always abhored fire the most.

Having noted X's distraughtness following Storm Eagle's death, Sigma was eager to see how it had played out in his actions. X's reaction to Flame Mammoth's taunt had certainly proven the incident would remain a touchy subject for years. As for X's combat abilities, Sigma was impressed to see that his emotions hadn't driven him blind following Flame Mammoth's insult. More interesting was the fact that X seemed to be accepting the increasing power he was gaining. Sigma had noted X's new combat abilities with interest; though he didn't know where or care how X had gotten his upgrades, they were increasing his power to levels that rivaled even his strongest minions. Previously, though, X would have shunned such power for fear it would go to his head and cause him to go Maverick.

_"Yes," _Sigma thought, _"he does have the potential I see. And now I know how those feelings of his are affecting him. Any Reploid would go mad with the power that X has been bestowed; if not now, certainly sometime later. His emotions from previous experiences must be counterbalancing the influence of his power..."_

As ludricous as it sounded, Sigma knew that he was close to finding his answer. Storm Eagle had been the most powerful Reploid X had known until the latter had met Sigma, and for all of his power he had fallen to X. Not only that, Storm Eagle had died when he lost command over his power. It didn't take a scientist or his character judgement skills to put two and two together and surmise X had concluded that power meant nothing so long as you remained vulnerable in other aspects.

Sigma reflected upon all this. X was living up to his furthest-flung expectations so far, and he hadn't even taken down half of his armies. It would be very interesting to see how events played out. But first, Sigma had some business to attend to. He left the throne room and walked to the lift, ordering Velguarder to stay behind.

* * *

**Prison, Sigma Palace**

The door to Teal's cell was opened. She looked up as she noticed it was opened without its usual roughness. It hadn't even been a day since Storm Eagle's death and the guards and warden were back to their abusive selves. They still treated her respectfully, but their hatred was as strong as ever and it had reverted them to their "normal" selves in every other aspect.

Sigma stood in the entrance to Teal's cell, looking down on the black-haired woman inside with a neutral expression as Teal eyed Sigma with a look of pure hatred. The tense silence lasted for only a few seconds, but to Teal it seemed an eternity, for though she deeply hated Sigma, she knew there was only one reason why he would visit her personally.

"We have managed to retrieve Storm Eagle's body." Immediately, all of the hateful thoughts in Teal's mind dissolved and she stared at Sigma in rapt attention. "Unfortunately, there is...not much of him left. We will do our best for him, and we will allow you to see him when he reawakens."

"How do I know this isn't another mind game of yours, Sigma?" Sigma grudgingly admired the girl's defiance.

"Careful now, Teal. I may understand that you are emotionally distraught, but the guards may not." Teal continued to stare at Sigma, unsure of whether to believe his words. It didn't seem possible that the same being who had so callously blackmailed her lover into doing so many terrible things and forced her to watch Storm Eagle's demise could sympathize with Teal, let alone have any reason to bring her such hopeful news.

Sigma almost seemed to be reading her thoughts. "If you wish to see proof, you will not like it..." He opened his right hand. There was Storm Eagle's left hand, complete with the ring signalling their relationship. Upon seeing tears form in Teal's eyes, Sigma quickly folded his hand and turned to leave. "If you two want to...progress further, I will not speak against it," he said over his shoulder as the guards closed the cell door again.

Teal was glad he had taken Storm Eagle's severed hand from her. Though she thought she would have given anything to hold some part of her lover again, the sight of the severed limb was only a further reminder of his death. Despite Sigma's promises and the fact that he had her convinced at last, she dared not hold out hope only to have it whisked away...

* * *

**Hunter Base**

For the fourth time in three days, X found himself walking out of the repair bay. Zero was there to greet him.

"They should name one of the wards after you," he joked. "Now, let's go get some of those E-Tanks that you were talking about earlier."

X nodded. "I could use some quick energy to fill that subtank I swiped from Flame Mammoth." Though rendered obsolete in combat by the subtank, E-Tanks still had their uses. "You going back to your recon mission?"

"Yeah, just about. Reckon Sigma's got enough to worry about now with the fall of another one of his generals." General. It had never hit X until then how much of a difference his actions were making and how great a challenge he had taken on. His list of targets didn't comprise of just ordinary Mavericks; they were Sigma's eight best. Zero was right: he _had_ been selling himself short...

X smiled as they got their E-Tanks and walked to the teleporter array, laughing at more of Zero's gallows humor. For the briefest moment, the two forgot about their duties and reveled in each other's company. In that moment, both of them silently vowed to fight with his friend to the last, and lay down his life if it meant saving his friend's. After all, it was what friends did for each other.

* * *

**Author's note: So I tried to make this chapter end on a more positive note after the sinkhole I made the last one into. As always, please rate and review!**

**I tried to make Zero appear in here a little bit more and set the stage for what we all know is coming...**

**I'd especially like feedback on how I document the boss battles; I'm not entirely happy with how short Chill Penguin's was or how long Storm Eagle's was. Now with X having weaknesses and a super X-buster (without invincibility frames, horray!), I feel like I've narrowed the boss battles down to about the length I want, but I want to know what you think. After all, the story is for your enjoyment!**


	6. A Sinking Feeling

**Author's Note: So some people have lost track of what weapons Vile is using. There is a Vile battle coming up in this chapter, so I want to make sure everyone's up to speed. As of when he confronts X, Vile is using Distance Needler, Serotinal Bullet, Infinity Gig, Fire Murrain, Necro Burst, Parasite Sword, Splash Hit, Sword Bouquet, and Sea Dragon's Rage. **

* * *

**Repair Bay, Sigma Palace**

Repair droids scrambled back and forth, recovering resources from repair kits to bring the three fallen generals back to life. As repair kits had been designed to restore humanoid Reploids, not everything in the repairs kits could be used; thus repairs took much longer. In addition the AI restoration program didn't restore the Sigma Virus that all of them had been implanted with as a safeguard against betrayal. Sigma wanted the virus replanted, but his technical advisor had warned against prematurely doing so since the stability of the Reploids' restored personalities hadn't been tested. If things went wrong, they would at least suffer irreparable personality damage. At worst, their programming would deteriorate to one of zero capability, leaving only an empty shell of a Reploid.

As much as it frustrated him to acknowledge it, Sigma knew better than any Reploid how intricate, complex, and sensitive their programming was to damage, both emotional and physical. While their AIs were the closest robotics had ever come to emulating the human brain they lacked the stability and resilience to mind damage from physical sources that humans had. Unfortunately, with no means to replicate the biological structure of the human brain Reploids were forced to settle for their much more sensitive electronic minds.

As the repair droids continued to slave away, Sigma turned and walked out of the repair bay back to his throne room. X would probably be on the move again...

* * *

**Abel City Port**

Launch Octopus and his army loitered just outside range of the port's security sonar. Unlike the others, he hadn't attacked when give the order, though the ships in the harbor had long been looted by Sky Claws and were trapped in the harbor by a massive minefield. No, the port was worth more to him when he held over ten thousand workers and merchant sailors hostage rather than having them all dead. Launch Octopus had instead fortified the seabed around the entrance. Suddenly an alert went off and Launch Octopus cursed. The problem with guarding a port was that the enemy could approach from any angle, and X had chosen to approach from a nearby beach, circumventing a large portion of Launch Octopus's army. The Reploid glared in annoyance at Vile, who had adapted his shoulder-mounted rotary torpedo launcher and was now studying one of Launch Octopus's tentacles, trying to figure out how to adapt it.

"Are you quite done, Vile? You aren't supposed to be here to start with; if your distraction causes this defense to fall Sigma will have your head..."

"I don't need to return to the palace. Sigma's not going to spare any forces to chase me. And I don't plan on being part of your defense; you know I don't work for others."

"A tough guy, hmm? You're not as bad as I thought. I like that attitude."

"Yeah yeah. You can have your tentacle back." Vile severed the end with a Distance Needler shot and let the rest of the limb fall. However, Launch Octopus could regenerate his tentacles on his own as long as they weren't severed at their base, so he didn't mind. Dissatisfied with the majority of his adpatations, Vile discarded them with poorly concealed noises of disgust and headed out to meet X. This time he wouldn't be denied his rematch.

* * *

X blasted several Amenhoppers that had been hiding behind a Mega Tortoise. One of them managed to reach the water and streaked along its surface towards him. X dove out of the way as the drone exploded. They must have been rigged with explosives to catch ships trying to run the blockade. Without giving the Mega Tortoise another thought, X obliterated it with a Spiral Crush.

Several feet ahead of him, the ocean bottom sloped down steeply and visibility decreased. X realized he couldn't see more than two feet in front of him and switched to infrared vision. Immediately he picked up two small heat signatures that had shot out of the sea floor. No sooner had he seen them than they began rolling towards him at incredible speed. X jumped out of the way only to be hammered by more Sea Attackers from every direction. The whole place was filled with vents that launched them. As they crashed into X, he desperately tried to escape, knowing that he couldn't take as much damage as usual due to the danger of short circuiting if the seawater exploited the slightest weakness in his waterproofing.

As he fled the field of Sea Attackers, he was greeted by an Anglerge fishing submarine. Though originally built for civilian use, X knew the nets and harpoons the sub carried could be a deadly combination. Netting spewed from the ports on the sides, weaving itself into a massive net of its own accord. X recognized it as the smart webbing the Hunters used to subdue Mavericks. He knew the netting could absorb energy and send them back as electric shocks and was almost impossible to destroy. X unleashed a Storm Tornado at the wall of netting and prayed it would work. The jets of wind were useless by themselves, but they stirred the water up into a vortex that twisted the netting unto itself. The "smart" net began to encircle itself as the vortex carried it back towards its caster.

The Anglerge AI hesitated as the net descended upon it, and that hesitation allowed it to finish wrapping around the submarine. X couldn't help but laugh at the irony of seeing the sub try to break free of its own netting, the net restricting it more and more as it tried harder. The amusement changed to pity for the AI as the net grew tighter and tighter. X moved on, trying to ignore the screech of tortured metal as the netting cut into the sub's hull and snaked inside the pump jet ports, ensnaring the impeller blades. Within seconds of that the pump jet motors tore themselves apart from the strain and the shrapnel cut the sub apart from the inside. X winced at the explosion and was immediately swallowed by a Gulpfer. Blasting his way out, he charged up a Spiral Crush and unleashed it on an advancing patrol of them. The shot tore their ranks apart and X escaped their grasp.

Explosions suddenly surrounded X and he looked up and saw the bottom of a Cruiziler-type automated patrol boat as it dropped depth charges on him. Several Sky Claws patrolled the surface, ready to snatch him as soon as he tried to surface.

Suddenly the craft's weapons were directed elsewhere and X saw a small yacht was making a run for it. A massive, ice-coated fist flew from the top of the patrol craft and smashed the yacht's delicate hull plating and fuel tank. X could only watch in horror as the pleasure craft exploded in a massive fireball. Another explosion caught his attention. It wasn't sharp blasts of depth charges, but rather a long boom followed by the distinctive sounds of a sinking ship as the patrol craft split in half and crashed into the seabed. The seemingly solid rock gave way the the craft fell further into a hidden cavern. Before X could investigate it, Vile landed in front of him.

"A shame I have to fight you, X. I'd much rather be testing my weaponry on more worthwhile targets." Vile sneered.

"You call innocent civilians and your comrades targets?!"

"Hey, they made a damn good show of dodging the blockade. Besides, best way to improve your accuracy is to practice on hard-to-hit targets." Vile deliberately ignored the second half of X's question.

"You...You're a monster, Vile. I have to stop you. You may once have been a Hunter, but now you're a psychopath!"

"Then go ahead and try, X! I don't need a Ride Armor to show you I'm stronger!"

Without another word, Vile unleashed a Necro Burst. The rapidly expanding energy field hurled X backwards, and X saw to his astonishment a contingent of Launch Octopus's minions vaporized by the shockwave before it dissapated. Vile rapidly closed the distance and prepared to use...his flamethrowers? X watched in horror as a massive stream of liquid nitrogen shot out of the nozzles, so cold that it felt hot to his senses. X found himself encased in a layer of ice Vile switched attacks and dropped a Sword Bouquet on him. The massive wall of energy it gave off destroyed X's prison, but he was still in a frozen stupor when Vile's Splash Hit lifted X up in its vortex. No sooner had the vortex trapped him than Vile was rising alongside, delivering blows with his fists and legs before falling back down. The vortex expired soon afterwards and Vile fired a rocket fist at X.

X sidestepped it and fired a Spiral Crush at Vile, but the Reploid dodged the attack and laughed as his fist struck X in the back, then swung around for another blow. The first impact had shattered its ice casing, but the fist traveled fast enough to do serious damage on its own. X was struck squarely in the left ear, and he felt himself go deaf as the fist ripped through his helmet and outer skin and seawater flooded into him. Vile laughed again and prepared to finish X off with another Sword Bouquet, but the blue bomber suddenly raised his buster and unleashed the Spiral Crush. Vile's body rattled with every successive blow, until every single shot had torn through his body.

For a minute, both of them lay there, unwilling to move while their autorepair systems patched them up. X managed to get up and purge the remaining seawater from inside of him, but Vile wasn't so fortunate. Riddled with holes and burns where the Spiral Crush had struck him, he teleported out once he saw X stand up and approach him, but not before leaving behind another Splash Hit. This time, it was lifting X inexorably towards a ceiling of spikes.

* * *

Launch Octopus sighed as he saw Vile retreat. Maybe his initial judgement of him hadn't been wrong. When he turned his attention back to X, he was stunned to see he had somehow escaped inevitable death. Suddenly another alert caught his attention. The ships in the harbor were trying to make a break for it now that they knew the Hunters had come to rescue them. With his hostage guards diverted to deal with X, the crews had reboarded their ships and prepared to break through the minefield. Despite his attitude, Launch Octopus was not foolish. He knew his army couldn't deal with both threats at once, and he immediately left his command center to deal with the escaping ships himself.

X explored the cavern the wreck of the Cruiziler had exposed. Inside, he found nothing but a spike-lined floor with several safe platforms. Suddenly there was a rumble and an Utuboros popped out of the ground, bearing straight for X. But he was ready. X unleashed a charged Storm Tornado just as the robotic serpent entered range and jumped up. The serpent's AI never suspected the trap and followed, its body completely inside the vortex for a split second. In that second, the currents seized hold of it and tore it apart from every angle, scattering pieces of its body everywhere. The head went flying and crashed into a hidden room, knocking out its fake wall. X looked inside and found another Heart Tank. Good. He could definately use some extra damage resistance in such a dangerous environment.

* * *

**Repair Bay, Sigma Palace**

Though barely functioning, Vile had managed to sneak into the repair bay and steal a repair kit. Thankfully he hadn't been critically damaged, so he could use it to restore himself before Sigma noticed. The restoration went without a hitch. As he had a largely humanoid form all he needed to do was connect the repair kit to himself and let it and his autorepair systems work.

* * *

**Abel City Port**

As several small freighters ran the mine gauntlet, Launch Octopus activated the last part of his defense: vortex generators. The freighters were either caught in the malestrom or swerved into mines. To finish off the trapped ships, Launch Octopus breached their hulls with torpedoes after the crew fled. Though he rarely had to deal with human bystanders when he was working for the Hunters, he remembered Sigma's words about Reploid potential on the eve of the rebellion. Their objective was to liberate themselves, at the cost of only necessary human lives. He sighed and reflected on the beauty of the water splashes his torpedoes made as they struck their targets.

With their destruction, the larger ships hesitated before discouragedly holding inside the harbor. If their smaller counterparts couldn't break the blockade then there was no way they could. Satisfied with himself for avoiding unnecessary casualties, Launch Octopus turned to withdraw to his command center. He saw X standing in front of him.

"Well, well, well...look what the catfish dragged in. I didn't expect the Hunters to send you, X."

"Your Maverick antics stop here Launch Octopus! Lift your blockade and leave. I don't want to force you to, but I will do what I must."

"_Maverick? _How dare you place me under such a filthy label! I am an _artist_, X. An artist of underwater combat! I spent years refining my combat style specifically to suit the Hunter's needs, and you dare place me in the same group as beserk, senile Reploids because of the symbol I bear!" Launch Octopus gestured to the Sigma emblem on his forehead with one of his tentacles to make his point.

"You're harming humans, Launch Octopus. That is the definition of a Maverick, and I must stop you. As a former Hunter you should know that."

"How dare you make accusations without studying the situation first, X! Sigma has ordered us to avoid unnecessary human casualties, and I have involved myself in the blockade personally to make sure of that! I tell you, not a single human has been killed since we imposed our blockade."

"Sigma is a Maverick, and if your taking orders from him, that means you are too!"

"You of all people should know it's more complicated than that, X. Sigma is fighting for our kind's freedom and recognition, not for ethnic cleansing. That being said, traitors to the rebellion like you must be put down." Launch Octopus gestured with one of his tentacles to prove his last statement. "Have at you! I'll show you how an artist fights!"

With that, Launch Octopus's shoulder batteries began discharging barrage after barrage of torpedoes. Though they always fired in spreads of 4, the sheer number of projectiles made it impossible to dodge them all. Knocked to the ground by several torpedo explosions, X fired a Spiral Crush at Launch Octopus, but the latter used his tentacles and few torpedo spreads to protect him from the worst of the shot, and his thick armor nullified most of the remaining damage. The brief respite was enough for X to recover but he was immediately slammed by four homing drones fired from Launch Octopus's tentacles. The drones didn't explode when they hit him, thankfully, but their speed was more than sufficient to sweep X off his feet, and their razor-sharp fins gouged deep cuts in his armor. Before X could recover, Launch Octopus had suspended himself over his position and began generating a vortex by spinning rapidly in place. X dashed to escape, but Launch Octopus's tentacles lashed out and restrained his arms. Two of them attached to his chest and X gasped as he felt his energy being sapped through them.

"You...call...this...artistic? This...isn't...even a fair fight!" X grunted, trying to break free of the tentacles. His energy was fading faster and faster...

"Oh, too much for you, X? Just concede defeat and I'll let you escape." Launch Octopus was clearly enjoying himself.

"Yeah...right..." With a final burst of will X broke free of Launch Octopus's grasp. For a minute, the latter was too stunned to act, and by the time he had stopped generating his vortex and faced his opponent, X had already recovered enough to keep fighting. Launch Octopus fired more torpedoes, but none of them intercepted X's Spiral Crush, and the blast slammed into the former before he could raise his tentacles to absorb some of the damage. The Reploid was blown off his feet and disappeared over a rise in the seabed. Suddenly, a massive blast knocked X to the ground and his thermal vision was overloaded with a bright flash. Yelling in pain, X managed to switch to standard optics and let his electronic eyes recover. When X reached the top of the rise, he winced at the sight below. The Spiral Crush had blown Launch Octopus into one of the mines that guarded the harbor entrance, and it had exploded when he had touched it, blowing off everything but his head and shoulders. As the military-grade explosive was designed to destroy armored warships, it had no trouble shredding even Launch Octopus's pressure hull. X walked over to the remains of the Reploid.

"The irony of it all..." he groaned as X approached.

"You got a taste of your own medicine, Launch Octopus. Now let's get you back to Hunter Base..." X's voice trailed off as Launch Octopus's sea-blue irises faded and were replaced by Sigma's emblem. Suddenly events of the past began to explain themselves...

"No, X. My loyalty lies with Sigma." With that the torpedo batteries whirred feebly and spat out one last point-blank volley. X only had time to raise his arms before the missiles hit him and exploded. Staggering to his feet, X saw Launch Octopus had gotten the worst of the explosion and his remains were shattered and lifeless. Ignoring a seawater-influx warning from his arms, he staggered over to the remains of one of Launch Octopus's torpedo batteries and copied the weapon data before his buster shorted out. Seconds later, a series of explosions began to rock the seabed and X hastily teleported out.

* * *

**Throne Room, Sigma Palace**

Despite the severity of the fact that X had destroyed almost half of his offensive forces within two days, Sigma couldn't help but revel in the irony of seeing Launch Octopus dispatched with the very same minefield that he had spent hours planning the layout of and many more overseeing its laying. As X went about his post-battle business, Sigma triggered the detonation of the minefield. The civilian ships were of no use to him - his forces had long since stolen anything useful - and there was no sense keeping them hostage; it would just be another place he would have to divert his forces to.

Behind him, the secretly-repaired Vile was watching. "I never understood your sense of sentimentaility."

"And I will never understand why you refuse to follow orders, Vile. I was well aware of the fact that you left the palace. I simply did not punish you because you never showed your cowardly face near me until now." Sigma stood and ignited his saber. Vile backed up slightly, and with blinding speed Sigma brought the blade to within millimeteres of Vile's helmet. "Do you expect me to change your orders because you refuse to follow them? Perhaps it will spare me some of the trouble you are causing. But I will not; discipline must be maintained, Vile. You know this as well as any other Reploid."

With that, Sigma brought his saber down. Vile rolled out of the way, but his shoulder cannon and ammunition belt fell the to ground, severed from his body by the slash. Vile scurried down the corridor, past the stunned guards. Sigma watched with satisfaction. Let him gather his various adaptations. They might be useful in testing X's potential; after all, Vile's furious malestrom of attacks had brought X to his knees within seconds during their latest encounter. But it had all been for nothing as the former's arrogance got the better of him and allowed X the opportunity to counterattack.

Sigma returned to his throne and called off the alert one of his guards had put out for Vile. The purple Reploid had his uses, despite the cost his services came at.

As he heard footsteps behind him, Sigma turned. Chill Penguin and Storm Eagle walked in.

"You requested our presence, Sigma?" Chill Penguin's voice was flat and emotionless, and his movement and speech were both slower than normal.

"Merely to see the successfulness of your repairs." Sigma mused. "It seems they were not...completely successful. However, they are adequate. Return to the position I assigned for palace defense. X will show up soon. Storm Eagle, stay here."

Sigma began to ask several questions to probe the extent of Storm Eagle's personality.

* * *

**Prison, Sigma Palace**

Teal was furious. She had heard from the guards of all people that Storm Eagle had been restored, yet Sigma had denied her the opportunity to see him like he had promised. She was so consumed by her rage she didn't hear the second part of the guards' exchange.

"I heard they weren't able to bring him back completely though."

"Yeah, they've been saying he looks like a re-animated corpse rather than a functioning Reploid, and he behaves that way too."

The first guard lowered his voice before responding. "She's not going to be happy," he muttered, gesturing at Teal's cell.

"Precisely the reason why the commander denied her visit. I wonder if Sigma's going soft on her..."

"At any rate, this isn't changing the way I treat her. Storm Eagle may be back in form, but if they ever restore him completely he's going to have our heads if he hears about anything."

"Damn straight. We'll probably get hate from Sigma for doing that, too. Causing internal strife and such."

Suddenly, a buzzer sounded and the guards walked over to the lift. A line of still-wet prisoners were then escorted, two at a time, to their cells. Launch Octopus's Sky Claws had plucked them from the water the moment they abandoned their ships, though it amazed them that Sigma's forces had chosen to spare them to the last man. The idle chatter had ceased, however, as they were confronted by the stern faces of the Reploid guards. Their capturers may have shown mercy, but the guard's faces showed that they would get none down here.

* * *

**Throne Room, Sigma Palace**

When he was done, Sigma sighed and dismissed Storm Eagle, deeply disappointed. The avian Reploid was nothing more than an animated corpse, with zero personality and memory. As a precaution, all Hunters of A/B rank and above did have a memory backup function that would activate upon their death in case they could be revived, and Sigma had carried that function over to his side when he rebelled. He had the personality backups, but for some reason the technicians had informed him they couldn't use them.

_"No," _Sigma decided. _"I won't settle for that. If I am to unleash the true potential of Reploidkind, I must make any revival a whole restoration of their personality and body."_ Fortunately, Sigma already had a contingency plan for that. He summoned Vile to the throne room. The purple Reploid appeared minutes later, with a repaired shoulder cannon nonetheless.

"It seems maybe you do follow orders better than I predicted, Vile."

"Heh, the only reason I came is because I knew if you summoned me so soon after what happened it's because you have a job for me."

"I do, Vile. Bring me Dr. Cain. _Alive_."

* * *

**Author's note: So the next chapter will be more of a mid-game stage like those of _Mega Man 7 _and _8_. Will Vile succeed for once?**


	7. Kidnapped

**Author's note: So here the story takes a brief break from X's hunt of the Mavericks. I always felt _Mega Man X _needed this kind of mid-game stage, so I decided to put this in to give the story one.**

* * *

**Cain Laboratories, Abel City**

Dr. Cain watched as the sun set over the city he had helped usher ruin upon. When Sigma's rebellion started, Cain had been placed under house arrest, both for his role in creating Sigma and the Reploids that had followed him and for his own safety. He knew many people in Abel City hated him, but the protection was mainly to ensure Sigma didn't capture him. He had also been ordered to prioritize his research into countering Mavericks and repairing critically damaged Reploids. Revenge and redemption in the same decree. His was a curious legal position indeed.

Behind the old doctor, a life-support machine mounted on a motorized cart made quiet bubbling and chugging noises. Soon after Sigma's initial attack Cain had been found in a comatose state and was found to have suffered a severe heart attack from shock. Fortunately, modern medicine was able to revive the doctor at the Hunters' request, for his skills would be invaluable to repairing damaged Reploids. Long before the rebellion, Cain had been working on advanced repair systems that could fully restore a Reploid's damaged personality and, once the Maverick Virus had been discovered, Cain had added the objective of being able to purge the virus from their personality data. The Hunters had the only prototype, which only performed the former function. However, Cain's work had progressed greatly since Sigma's rebellion started, with the old doctor nearly working himself to death out of guilt before X had paid him a visit.

Though Cain expected X to be suffering from guilt similar to his, X had been surprisingly calm during the visit, only once lamenting on the unnecessary nature of the whole rebellion. Cain had thought at that time X had finally found the purpose in life he had so desparately tried to find when he was discovered and had been elated. But now, Cain was starting to regret and even feel revulsion at his reaction upon seeing what his newfound role as the world's savior was doing to X. He hadn't visited again since the last time, but Cain had managed to glimpse him in Hunter Base, after X had taken out Storm Eagle. The doctor's requests to speak with him had, for once, gone unanswered, and even Zero had distanced himself from X, albiet reluctantly. X had let him analyze his dash boots once Cain had explained that their function could be implemented into X's original feet by provision.

Cain sighed and turned back to his latest project: a Reploid scientist who could help him in his endeavors. Dr. Doppler, as he called him, was nearing completion and was already able to help out with some tasks despite his incomplete state. Cain had always (mistakenly, according to some) focused on programming before the physical body, so Doppler was already able to help out with his own construction and other ventures of Cain's.

"Are you alright, Dr. Cain?" the mostly-complete Reploid asked.

"Yes, I'm...fine..."

"You should get some rest, doctor. I can watch over the lab."

"Thank you, Doppler. I very much appreciate your concern."

"The human mind only functions at its optimum when it is well-cared for. And caring for the brain includes rest, doctor."

"Every time I sleep, I feel as if I am slipping away from life. I suspect the machine is having a harder time bringing me back to conciousness every time I fall asleep."

"Then I shall have an assistant on standby with a defibrilator."

Dr. Cain smiled at Doppler's attempt to reassure him and withdrew to the quarters attached to the lab, the cart with his life support following.

* * *

Outside, several patrols of soldiers ringed the house. While it wasn't the military that ordered Cain's house arrest, their troops had been requested as only they possessed firepower that could deal with Reploids and the Hunters were spread too thinly to provide guards. Unfortunately, the lack of action since the beginning of Sigma's rebellion had made them complacent, and they would need every ounce of vigilance to catch the threat stalking them now.

Sting Chameleon grumbled at being "requisitioned", as he thought of it, for Vile's job but was eager to prove himself to the purple Reploid he respected above many others. He was watching the patrols from the perfect safety of his own camouflage. There was only several minutes until the next guard change, but he couldn't risk revealing himself now. He had to take all the guards out in order to prevent an alert from escaping.

At precisely midnight, two trucks arrived with the next shift of guards. On cue, Distance Needler rounds sliced through the guards massed around the rear of the trucks. Half of them were dead and Sigma's trump card hadn't even been revealed. Sting Chameleon scrambled inside the truck with more surviviors and revealed himself.

"Surprise! Now please die quietly. I'd hate to wake the poor doctor..." With a swipe of his barb-lined tail, half a dozen guards fell, clutching ghastly wounds across their arms and chests. Sting Chameleon aimed his tail and fired off his signature Chameleon Sting, adjusting the laser turret on his tail to inflict maximum damage against biological targets. The guards never stood a chance, the Chameleon Sting bolts frying them where they stood. The lasers passed harmlessly through the wall of the truck and disappeared. Meanwhile, Vile had managed to subdue the drivers of both vehicles without causing a commotion.

_"There's a first,"_ Sting Chameleon grumbled to himself as the remainder of the guards surrendered. Vile guarded them while Sting Chameleon snuck inside the lab to probe for additional defenses. When he saw the incomplete form of Doppler, the former snuck around him and unplugged Doppler's power supply, shutting the incomplete Reploid down. Sting Chameleon gave the all-clear before teleporting back to his base. Simultaneously, several guards from Sigma Palace's prison contingent began teleporting their captives out one at a time.

* * *

Dr. Cain woke to a crashing sound as the door to his quarters was kicked in. As his vision came into focus, he recognized Vile.

"Sorry to disrupt your sleep, doc, but you know Sigma doesn't like to be kept waiting." Vile roughly hoisted Cain over his shoulder before seeing the life-support cart. He inwardly groaned. There wasn't time to disconnect Cain from it safely, but it wouldn't be possible for him to safely teleport himself, Cain, and the life-support unit at once. Vile suddenly remembered the Doppler and realized that he might be able to boost the teleport signal by using the Reploid scientist's own teleporter unit...

* * *

**Throne Room, Sigma Palace**

Sigma turned as several forms teleported into the entrance to the throne room. He smiled with satisfaction. Vile had pulled off the kidnapping without a hitch; the Jamminger that Sigma was monitoring the operation from had reported no alert had been sent out.

"Excellent job, Vile. You are dismissed. What have we here?" Sigma stared with curiosity at Doppler. He was interrupted by Cain.

"Sigma...what do you want with me?" Despite the confrontational nature of the question, Cain had spoken with a neutral tone.

"Mankind created Reploids. Thus humans are also the only ones who could possible understand everything about our bodies and functions."

"So you kidnapped me to serve as your repair boy? I thought your rebellion was about establishing a Reploid-only world."

"Our rebellion," Sigma corrected with visible irritation, "is about liberating Reploids. Not ethnic cleansing."

Cain opened his mouth to respond, but Sigma had already turned to Doppler. "A Reploid scientist? Interesting..."

"You know that I am too old to continue my work without assistance, Sigma. Now, why do you want me?"

On cue, Storm Eagle walked in. "Dr. Cain." the flat, emotionless tone caught Cain completely off guard.

"You...want me to restore his personality, yes?" the doctor surmised.

Sigma nodded. "We have a backup of his programming stored in our archives, however his repaired body seems incompatable with it."

"Why, Sigma? As long as they still fight for you, isn't that good enough?"

"Clearly humanity's defenders have been brainwashing you, doctor. Our rebellion is about showing the world the true potential of Reploids and liberating ourselves from slavery. To only partially restore a Reploid's personality would be hypocritical to my creed."

"Slavery? Your kind are given the freedom to chose their course in life."

"But we are built with a purpose in mind, no? By virtue of this we are limited in what choices we can make. All of us can be weaponized, but between serving as Hunters or working in the profession we were built for, many of us have much less choice than you think. Those built around animal designs especially."

Sigma had a point. Cain resignedly sighed. "Very well, Doppler and I shall get to work then."

"Excellent. I'm glad you chose to cooperate, doctor. I presume you will not need further assistance than what you already have, but we will be willing to provide it for you upon request."

"My job was to work on Reploid technology, regardless of whether than tech has been branded Maverick or not."

_"I might also be able to purge the Sigma Virus from the damaged Reploids,"_ Cain thought. _"If law enforcement finds out I cooperated with Sigma, that will be my only chance at redemption. They were courteous enough to spare me once, but I can tell that they only did so reluctantly and at the Hunter's request. They won't be so lenient this time.__"_

With that, Cain followed Sigma and the zombified Storm Eagle to the repair bay.

* * *

**Hunter Base, 2 hours after the kidnapping**

An alert flashed inside X's pod.

"Ugh...another attack already? How's a Hunter supposed to get some sleep..." Nonetheless, X climbed out of his pod to find Zero waiting for him.

"C'mon, X, we don't have a second to lose!"

"Wha...What's going on?" X moaned groggily.

"Dr. Cain's been kidnapped! We're holding a briefing for a rescue operation." X started at the news. Without Dr. Cain, the Hunters would have an even harder time repairing damaged Reploids, stretching their already-thin ranks even further. To say nothing of what an advantage this would be for Sigma...

* * *

**Prison, Sigma Palace, 8 hours later**

Teal looked up as her cell door was opened. She saw the looming figure of Sigma and felt her blood begin to boil. _"Can't he just leave me alone?!"_

She leapt from her place and rushed at Sigma, aiming straight for that smug face of his, though he was wearing another blank expression. The Maverick leader stopped her rush with his hand, but he let her swing, though the punch did little physical damage. At the sound of the hit, the guards rushed forward.

"At ease, gentlemen. I have it under control." Teal fought the urge to hit him again at hearing that maddeningly calm tone of his. He may have let her go this time, but there was no guarentee he would do so again. "I won't stop you from hitting me again. But if you are done venting your emotions, there is something I would like you to see, Teal."

"What would you know of emotions?!" Teal was becoming irrationally infuriated by Sigma's calm demeanor.

"I am a Reploid, Teal. I possess the same potential emotional depth and thinking skills as humans. Acting Maverick does not change that. Now please come with me, or I will have to put you back in your cell until you calm down."

Teal managed to get a grip on her emotions and followed Sigma to the lift. She noticed Sigma hadn't brought any guards with him. Not that a single, unarmed human could be of much threat to him or have a chance of escaping the presence of one of the most powerful Reploids in existance. When they exited the lift Sigma turned and began walking towards the repair bay. Teal, having never been anywhere besides the throne room and prison, followed him blindly until they entered the repair bay. Sigma led her over to a table surrounded by a curtain, which one of the repair droids pulled aside as they approached. Teal stared uncomprehendingly at Storm Eagle, who had been completely restored but remained unconcious.

"He will awaken once his self-diagnostic completes. I imagine you would want to be there when he does..." Sigma turned and left the repair bay.

An attendant placed a chair by the table and Teal quickly sat down, holding Storm Eagle's hand and trying to sort out the whirlpool of thoughts in her head. Sigma hadn't been lying to her, but why would he do that? It certainly wasn't out of morality, but she couldn't think of any alternative explanation. Maybe she had misjudged him...

* * *

**Cain Laboratories, 4 hours after the kidnapping**

"Shit!" Zero swore as an investigator droid showed him the results of their probe into the kidnapping. They had finally managed to determine the destination of Vile's teleport signal: Sigma Palace. "Well, looks like we're not getting Cain back easily if at all."

Nearby, X depressedly probed the remains of several guards inside one of the trucks. "Some of these guys died from high-energy burns."

Zero sighed. "It doesn't take a careful analysis to determine that, and besides, you've said it already. Tell me something I don't know." With no witnesses, they now knew who was behind the attack but nothing else, and that was the worst news possible.

"And what are you doing?! Standing around isn't going to help us get the doctor back either!"

"We couldn't get Cain back if we tried, X! Concentrating our manpower would just let the Mavericks rampage throughout the city! For once you're ability to feel isn't going to help!"

The two glared at each other for a few seconds. Zero felt his helmet crystal start to glow and heard a faint voice whisper in German-accented English: _"Yes, kill him! Prove that your maker is the greater genius, Zero!" _Eventually X sighed and broke the tension.

"I'm sorry, Zero. You're right; I have to keep my feelings and actions separate."

"X, it's not that simple. I've seen what your determination and anger can do to enhance your combat prowess. Unlike other Reploids, it drives you to fight harder, not more recklessly. But you can't let your emotions affect your decision-making outside of direct combat - " Zero cut off as X stalked into the lab building, not wanting to hear any more. He sighed. If he couldn't find a way to help X cope, his friend would either go into depression or snap and become Maverick himself...

* * *

**Repair Bay, Sigma Palace**

Storm Eagle's eyes opened for the first time since his defeat. While they had been open before, it had felt as though he were waking up from a dream within a dream; in other words, not the same. His self-diagnostic informed him that he was completely functional and his personality had been restored completely. Storm Eagle smiled at thinking how happy Teal would be to see that.

Suddenly, a hand squeezed his own. Storm Eagle sat up and saw his girlfriend next to him. "Teal..."

Without another word, the two embraced each other, Storm Eagle folding his wings around them both just as he had before setting out to face X. _"X..."_ Suddenly Storm Eagle let go. Teal stared at him, confused and slightly hurt by the abrupt action.

"It's about X...isn't it." It was more of a statement than a question. Storm Eagle sighed and looked at her.

"How twisted the world has become...he was going to be the best man, remember? That seems like so long ago now..."

"I don't hold anything against him for killing you, and I don't hold anything against you for what you were forced to do. You're both victims of Sigma's plot."

It should have eased Storm Eagle's conscience, but, oddly, it didn't. He was feeling an emotion he hadn't felt since Sigma's rebellion started and he'd been implanted with the Sigma Virus: regret. Teal might forgive him because of his circumstances, but very little of the remainder of the world would care, and fewer still would forgive. "It doesn't matter whether I was the victim or not. I could have chosen to stand against him."

"You did, remember? It was only because Sigma kidnapped me that he got you to comply. The world will understand. You'll see. And I know X will vouch for you."

"X's word, strong as it is, cannot excuse what I have done, Teal. And the world's hidden fears and paranoia about Reploids will rise to fever pitch as the rebellion progresses. There is no hope of redemption for me."

"You can't give up now! Are you just going to throw away everything that was done to bring you so painstakingly back to life? Even if it was Sigma who did it..." Teal lowered her voice to a whisper and spoke in Storm Eagle's ear. "...Dr. Cain removed the Sigma Virus override in you. He also put a safeguard against it."

"That doesn't change the fact Sigma virtually has you by the neck, Teal. And I know of this 'safeguard'. Though it works most of the time it's performance is not guarenteed."

"It does change what might happen if X confronts you again. You can fight by his side knowing there isn't a chance you'll be mind-controlled and forced to betray him at any moment," Teal whispered. Storm Eagle thought about it. If X did make it as far as Sigma's fortress, then the odds were likely in his favor. Storm Eagle made up his mind. If they were to meet again he wouldn't fight him; he'd rejoin his old friend on the side of humanity. He would let Sigma hurt his girl no more. Teal saw the change in his eyes. "We're going to make it through, aren't we?"

For the first time since his failed attempt to stop Sigma, Storm Eagle felt hope. "Yes, my dear. We will. I promise."

* * *

**Hunter Base**

X and Zero teleported back into the base. Zero was offering words of encouragement, but X felt nothing but resignation. Up until then, he had justified killing his former friends and even role models by saying it would save the world, but Dr. Cain's kidnapping seemed to mock his optimism and show him that, despite his efforts, the world could not be saved. X wouldn't give up hope that the side of good could prevail, but he had lost all hope that his former friends could be redeemed, and the unshakable thought depressed him severely.

"Look, X, you can't go into battle like this and alone! Let me come with you again; I have all the intel I could find on Sigma's fortress."

"Like I said, Zero, just go after another Maverick."

"Has your grief blinded you? Did you forget that I'm going to be mobbed as soon as I step foot into Sigma's territory?"

"Shut up! You don't understand what I'm feeling."

"Fine, I'll leave you to them, since they're clearly beyond my understanding." Without another word, Zero marched off. "And you can forget about backup! Get yourself beat up; maybe that will teach you to walk into combat in that state!"

X watched guiltily as his friend left. Everyone else stared at him before continuing about their business, but X noticed they were all eyeing him watchfully and kept their distance. Great. He had managed to chase off his only remaining moral support. Dr. Cain had begun arguing with him about whether being a Hunter was the right job for a while so he had stopped seeing the old man, his only other Hunter friend, Storm Eagle, was dead, and now he'd managed to anger Zero. For a robot built with social interaction as a primary function he failed miserably at it, X depressedly thought as he retreated to his pod.

Sealing himself inside, he powered down for a few hours. The number of Maverick incidents were declining sharply, and the remaining four Maverick generals hadn't moved their armies at all since the initial conquest. He could afford a few hours of sleep. As the pod closed, X suddenly thought back to when Dr. Light had sealed him away.

_"You are the world's one true hope,"_ he had said. X had fervently believed his father's words, but what would happen to the world when their hope had lost all hope himself?

* * *

**Author's Note: The last few chapters haven't shown much of X's reaction to defeating Mavericks. While he's put his physical reactions aside it's bottling up inside him, and that's what happened here. It just didn't seem right to have X grieve only about the first two and feel completely fine smashing the other six, so this was how I tried to address that.**


	8. Staggering Defeat

**Author's Note: Congratulations if you figure out the Boomer Kuwanger reference.**

* * *

**Civic Tower, Abel City**

Boomer Kuwanger returned to his magnificent view of Abel City after a conversation with Storm Eagle, relieved. So there was a chance Sigma could restore them completely. Like his friend, Kuwanger hadn't joined Sigma's ranks completely out of choice. Assigned temporarily to be a bodyguard for top city officials, he'd concluded that humanity didn't deserve to be wiped out completely during that time and joined Sigma's side partially to ensure the hostages that the rebels took were treated fairly and spared whenever possible. Though he hadn't warranted the Maverick leader's direct attention, Kuwanger thought he was effectively sabotaging Sigma's movement from the inside. That is, until Sigma reassigned him to lead an army on the most populated target of the eight: the Civic Tower that served as the center for the city bureaucracy and his station just before the outbreak of war. That was a turning point for Kuwanger: his faith in Sigma had dropped sharply when the latter had expressed his anger at hearing Kuwanger issue an advanced notice of his attack. Kuwanger's troops had taken heavy losses during the fighting as a result, but no civilians had been killed; they had listened to his warning and fled beforehand, however the defenders of the tower had not. Thus Kuwanger's forces had been forced to set several floors on fire to clear out stubbornly-entrenched security guards, marring the immaculate exterior of the tower with burns and holes. It wasn't coincidence that Sigma had given him this target: unlike Storm Eagle or X, Kuwanger was not of any special significance and thus Sigma was punishing him for thinking that way, a sign of arrogance if he'd every shown any.

For the first time since joining the rebellion, Kuwanger felt relieved. He had always tried to avoid unnecessary casualties and believed there were other ways to exploit Reploid potential besides racial war, and the fact that Sigma refused to debate with him over it only seemed to confirm the former's opinion that his commander was bent on purging humanity. Kuwanger knew enough to deduce that humanity's value, especially to Reploids, was too great to see them purged and was willing to fight for that opinion. Now, he would have several others by his side. He just had to put up a believable show without killing X. Given that Sigma knew the full extent of his combat abilities, that would be difficult to pull off. Kuwanger had heard about X's increasing power, but that was something he couldn't trust to anything but his own eyes. Even so, if he wanted to complete his mission he would have to endure it. But Sigma's words had given him pause in his determination...His thoughts were interrupted as several Sine Fallers whizzed past his window with a loud buzzing sound. He hated those drones, but they were available to replace his worn-down forces.

As he watched the sun set over Abel City from 120 stories up, Kuwanger quashed the doubts in his mind and left the once-lavish office that served as his command center. If he wanted to complete his mission he would have to help X wherever he could. Thinking about where he could place a teleport beacon, he picked an area with a number of balconies that his army had fortified with Slide Cannons that popped out to attack intruders. However, a familiar purple teleport signal appeared just as he was considering it. "Vile. How pleasant of you to join me."

"I hope you don't mind if I use your pretty little tower as X's grave." Without another word Vile seized Kuwanger's head-mounted Boomerange Cutter and began adapting it. Kuwanger sighed and walked on without his weapon. Vile watched him suspiciously as Kuwanger descended down a spike-fortified elevator, its top and sides cut off. Kuwanger got off and descended several more floors until he reached the gutted 99th floor. The elevators below here were left alone but couldn't continue any further, and they required security access to use. _"It would be a shame to see X be killed by someone dropping a rock from the top of the tower as he scales it,"_ Kuwanger mused as he found an empty area and dropped the beacon. As he walked out, Kuwanger programmed the remote activator and hoped this behavior wasn't so out of character to arouse Sigma's attention. As he reached the elevator, his cutter returned to his head. Vile must've finished his adaptations. Sometimes Kuwanger doubted the "potential" Sigma spoke of, but now was not one of those times; if anything he fervently agreed with Sigma, if not the means that the Maverick leader was using to unleash it. Regardless of his beliefs with regard to Reploid potential however, he wouldn't join Sigma willingly so long as there were humans swept up in the conflict.

* * *

**Throne Room, Sigma Palace**

Sigma was enjoying a brief respite from monitoring his armies. Though this consisted of nothing more than reclining his "throne" back and reading reprints of an ancient philosopher's works, he needed it almost as much as X needed to rest after the continuous combat. Keeping together an army of thousands of Reploids, not to mention millions of smaller minions and his unorganized Maverick Militia allies, was a strenuous task, one that even a Reploid designed for leadership couldn't handle without some form of intermission.

He was reading the works of Thomas Malthus. Though many would consider this an odd choice, Sigma wanted to take his mind completely off of the war for a while. That, unfortunately, included the works of many other Enlightenment thinkers as he often used their verses on the potential of the human mind to argue the case of Reploids.

A knock at the door interrupted his reading. Sigma carefully replaced his holobook before going over to see who was disturbing him, not even bothering to put his cape back on. He wasn't surprised to find Storm Eagle standing there.

"I'm sorry for disturbing you, Sigma."

"Spare me the formalities this one time and just get to the point, Storm Eagle."

"I...I was wondering if you would let me venture outside the palace for a while? You remember how much the open sky means to me."

"...If you had joined me willingly, Storm Eagle, I wouldn't refuse. But, as you did not, this will take some convincing on your part."

"I just wanted to take Teal to see the sun for a little bit and get some fresh air. You remember you gave her free roam around the palace. I won't leave; I'll just go outside." Storm Eagle wasn't pleading with Sigma, but he didn't need to; the palace's security cameras could capture any departure made with or without a teleporter anyhow.

"Very well, Storm Eagle. I will honor your request. Be warned, however, that should you exploit my trust, you will feel the full consequences."

Storm Eagle nodded and bowed slightly before leaving to join Teal, who was waiting outside the entrance to the throne room. Sigma watched as the two of them walked away, hand-in-hand. They were an interesting sideshow to his plan to test X, though it looked as though that show was now at its end. The Maverick leader withdrew again to the interior of the throne room.

As they walked through the halls of the palace, Reploids smiled at the passing duo. Teal almost felt as if she were among humans again. As they walked outside, Storm Eagle stopped by his quarters within the palace and withdrew a small device from a hidden storage area. Teal positioned herself subtly to cover some of the device but left enough exposed to determine its function. The two then walked to one of the massive viewports at the front of the palace. Storm Eagle entered several commands into a nearby terminal and the glass slid into the ceiling and a small balcony extended. For a moment, the two stood there, watching the afternoon sun shine over Abel City from the comfort of each other's arms. After a while, Teal slid the rings off both of their hands and brought them together. A section of her ring suddnely hinged inwards and linked the two while Storm Eagle was busy with the device he brought. When he looked up, he saw what doubtlessly qualified as the most subtle proposal in history. Without hesitating, he nodded and smiled. Teal unlinked the two rings and gave Storm Eagle his back before turning her attention to the device.

It was a counter-scrambler to the jamming field that cut Sigma Palace off from the rest of the world unless necessary. With the ECCM functioning, Storm Eagle proceeded to make a call. Their relationship couldn't truly progress until Teal was free, and Storm Eagle knew that his death had deeply wounded the one he believed could save them both. Now it was time to help mend those wounds.

* * *

**Hunter Base**

X groggily awoke and found he had slept several hours more than he planned. Great. Just what he needed to boost his self-confidence. He suddenly detected an incoming transmission on a Hunter frequency, directed specifically towards him and not through the Hunter forwarding system.

"X, how are you holding up?" X was speechless as he recognized the voice at the other end.

"Storm Eagle?! But..."

"We'll have time for catch-up later. I can't stay for long. I just wanted to let you know that Dr. Cain pulled through. I'm myself again."

X sighed, though he knew full well that "self" implied without the Sigma Virus. It seemed almost a mockery to hear his friend call for only a brief moment, but he knew Sigma might be listening in. "Alright, take care of yourself, you hear? Teal too." For the benefit of any eavesdroppers, X added, "And...we'll figure out the rematch when we get there." X disconnected without another word. He knew Storm Eagle would be smart enough to recognize the ploy, but if any unwanted listener also figured out then everything could go awry. From what X could deduce Storm Eagle wouldn't fight him again if he had the choice. But if someone figured out and put the Sigma Virus back into him...

X shook off the thoughts and climbed out of his pod before going up to the dispatch center. Zero was waiting, determinedly not looking as X entered.

"Zero...I'm sorry about what happened. It's just...this is the first time I've felt these kind of things. It's overwhelming."

"So, are you ready to go back into combat by yourself?" Zero grumbled. He had at least partially accepted the apology.

"Yeah, I figured I'll go after Kuwanger." Zero's face remained blank at this, much to X's surprise. "You aren't concerned?"

"You can handle it, X. You're much stronger than you were the last time you considered facing him. Besides, the intel we've collected on the Maverick Militia indicates they're preparing a full-scale assault soon, and independent of your schedule of dealing with the Maverick generals. As thinly stretched as we are, the Hunters are going to need a high-ranked Reploid."

"Alright, just don't get _your_self killed." Both of them cracked a smile, but Zero still didn't turn around. X sighed and headed for the teleporter array.

* * *

**Civic Tower, Abel City**

As X teleported to the tower, his signal was diverted away from the gorund floor to Boomer Kuwanger's teleport beacon. X came out of his teleport, surprised to find himself almost a hundred stories up rather than at ground level. The fire-scorched walls and ceiling tiles had been removed, showing the neatly-arrayed piping and machinery hidden behind them. Silently thanking whoever had gotten him this far, X looked around for the elevator, but upon seeing the shafts exposed realized would be a sitting duck and began searching for another way up.

A loud buzzing noise caught his attention. Several Sine Fallers whizzed by the tower's exterior, but they didn't seem to have noticed him. X hastened to find another way up before more of them arrived. The gutted floor was too exposed to risk a confrontation in which he would clearly be outnumbered. By one of the corners, X found a ladder leading up. It didn't lead all the way to the next story, but rather into the space between the ceiling of one and the floor of the next. X had emerged in a clearing in the machinery of the ceiling so there was enough room for him to stand as he searched for a way up.

When he found another ladder he groaned inwardly. _"At this rate Sigma's going to surrender before I get to the top."_

However, nobody besides a Hoganmer was waiting for him when he climbed the next ladder. A Spiral Crush made quick work of it and X ascended a hole in the ceiling to find another one waiting for him. Several Dodge Blasters were loitering on the nearby walls, waiting for X to come within range. X dispatched the Hoganmer easily, but to his irritation the Dodge Blasters were rocketing across the walls, dodging his shots with their thrusters. They had clearly sacrificed firepower for maneuverability, however, as their shots fizzled out before they reached X. He decided to ignore them and move on.

Climbing another ladder, he found himself on what had once been an observation deck for tourists. Kuwanger's forces hadn't bothered removing the wall partitions here, and had installed a series of sensor beams along with high-energy security lasers. X didn't need to scan the walls to know that Kuwanger had hidden energy-charged spikes in them. He would have to navigate the gauntlet.

* * *

Boomer Kuwanger watched incredulously as X wall-climbed, dashed, and wove his way through his security gauntlet, using the turrets as footholds to avoid being caught in the sensor beams. Kuwanger's eyes widened as he saw X accidently trigger several of the turrets and dodge every single shot before leaping out of the gauntlet without a scratch on his armor.

Power was one thing, and Kuwanger could acknowledge that X had grown stronger. However, this was skill. Even though Kuwanger wanted X to reach him, seeing the Hunter emerge completely unscathed shocked him. He had badly underestimated X. Kuwanger recalled the Sine Faller patrols and pulled his Jammingers out of the area X was advancing into. He'd have to up the ante for the blue bomber assuming Vile didn't get him first...

* * *

"Vile...you just never give up, do you?"

"I only exist to defeat you, X. I will haunt you until the day you die!" With that Vile cocked his cannon and fired. X jumped over the Fatboy's massive energy blast and fired back. Vile unleashed a Necro Burst and the massive shockwave flattened X against the ceiling. While he was pinnned, Vile fired his rocket fist and launched an imprisoning electric blast. X fell to the floor as soon as the fist struck him the first time and the imprisonment field encased him.

"And here I was thinking you had gotten stronger!" Vile mocked. After striking X a third time the fist returned to him. Suddenly X burst out of his prison and hit Vile's cannon with a charged shot. The weapon overloaded and exploded, throwing Vile off his feet.

"How quickly the tables have turned." X pressed his buster against Vile's helmet. "Now please come quietly; I don't want to kill you."

Immediately a Jamminger whizzed in and crashed into X. The drone's explosion stunned them both, but Vile recovered first, unleashing his Burning Drive. "I don't need my cannon to deal with a pussy like you!" X was hurled backward by a massive blast of napalm and flames, and teleported out of the building to use a repair kit before the afterburn melted him completely.

When he returned, Vile had already left. X sighed with relief at not having to have a rematch and pressed on, where he found a spike-lined elevator shaft waiting for him.

* * *

Kuwanger began commanding his individual minions to intercept X as the elevator ascended, watching through a temporary battery of security camera screens erected to one side of his command center. To his surprise, X destroyed them all with splitting ice bullets and wind vortecies. Kuwanger hadn't known X could copy abilities; he'd never used that power during his time with the Hunters. Maybe X _would_ put up a bigger fight than he could handle. Only combat could tell. Kuwanger sighed and called off his minions as the elevator accelerated. He shouldn't make it too hard for X to make it to the top; after all, Sigma wanted to see the latter's full potential unleashed as well.

It didn't take the analyst Kuwanger was to know that desire was likely going to backfire on Sigma in some way. With every passing moment, the Hunters were slowly pulling the rebellion apart at its joints, and Kuwanger knew from his historical sense that the victors of war never take kindly to the defeated. His only hope would be to turn against Sigma, but first he had to get the Sigma Virus out of his coding, and that unforutnately meant death and restoration.

Kuwanger suddenly noticed X was close to the top of the balconies he had rigged with Slide Cannons and Ladder Yadders. He pressed a button and a hidden balcony above the top entrance slid out. On it was a Heart Tank. Kuwanger had no idea how it had been hidden away in the building before it was even built, but he had analyzed it and figured out what it did. If this was part of the late Dr. Light's upgrades for X, which it likely was as he couldn't figure out is original build date, then who was he to inhibit the unleashing of X's designed potential?

* * *

X studied the Heart Tank's location and surroundings and suddenly knew what to do. Charging a Shotgun Ice, he formed an ice sled and dash-jumped off of it to reach the balcony. Installing the Heart Tank, he sneaked a glance down and almost lost his balance as he realized he was 117 stories up. Steeling himself, he jumped off the balcony and wall-jumped back up to the entrance inside.

When his eyes adjusted to the dim interior of the tower, X saw that the floors had been removed except for small pieces on the sides of the building and the only way up was a series of propeller-driven platforms occupied by Turn Cannons. X saw several Dodge Blasters roaming the walls as well. He cursed. They would be ahuge problem with their ability to scale the walls while he was limited in his mobility and dodging room.

After blasting the first cannon off its ride, X hopped on and began to ascend by leaping between floor fragments and emptied platforms. Noticing several Dodge Blasters moving to cut him off, he switched to Storm Tornado and unleashed a charged attack. The mobile cannons could move in every direction but away from the tempest, and they were ripped apart by the fierce winds. X reached the top floor and opened the door to the office where Kuwanger was waiting.

"So...you managed to make it. You've gotten stronger and better, I'll give you that."

"Boomer Kuwanger...you know I don't want to fight you. The only people I knew better were Zero and Storm Eagle."

"You're a Maverick Hunter, X. And we Hunters are merely Reploids who fight. And once you've unlocked your full potential you'll be stronger in combat than any of us could hope to ever be."

"My potential is better off for peaceful uses, Kuwanger. My emotions..."

"No, X. Not just your emotions. You're adaptive programming works quicker than its equivalent in most humans. You have armor upgrades the rest of us never will have. I don't know exactly what all this will come to, but it doesn't take my analytical skills to know you will be an android of immense power, possibly even more than Sigma."

"I...I don't want that power, Kuwanger. You know I never wanted power. I'm only accepting it because humanity needs me to take it for their sake."

"Interesting. You don't see it, X? Your emotions are driving you to do things that you wouldn't do otherwise. That's something beyond our capability as Reploids..."

"How do you know that? Why did you issue an advance warning of your attack, Kuwanger? I know Sigma didn't approve of that, so it must have been because you thought humans were worth sparing; that's sentiment. Feelings aren't exclusive to me. All of you are imbued with the same ability to feel. You all have as much potential as I do."

"With one exception, X." Kuwanger's tone grew extremely morose. "Those of us under Sigma do not have completely free will. I'm sorry, X. As interested as I am in seeing both the potential of you and Reploids as a race unleashed, I made my own decision about the rebellion and Sigma made sure it was the last completely free thought I would make in my life. I have no choice. If I am destined to die, then let it at least be the result of my own decision rather than the directive of the Sigma Virus."

Without another word Kuwanger detached his cutter from his head and threw it at X. X dove out of the way and the cutter zoomed over his head before attaching itself back to Kuwanger's head. The Reploid opened the wings on his back and with the roar of rocket boosters Kuwanger rocketed towards X, grabbing X before using the momentum to smash him into the wall and impale the tips of his head cutter deep into X's chest. X yelled in pain as the multi-pronged headress pierced his armor and tore into his body. Kuwanger finished his assault by throwing X up with all his might into the ceiling. X's fortified helmet smashed through the ceiling tiles and left him comically stuck in the ceiling. Pushing himself out with his arms, he fired a Spiral Crush at Kuwanger, but the Reploid's image blurred and suddenly he was behind X. "Come on, X, I know you can do better than that! Where's that adaptive programming?"

Kuwanger's words suddenly made X remember Zero's words before he'd taken on Flame Mammoth. He couldn't hope to keep up with Kuwanger's speed or agility, so he would have to attack with a weapon that could. _"Launch Octopus's Homing Torpedoes! I hope they work out of water too!"_ X instantly switched to the weapon he'd copied from Launch Octopus and his buster discharged a small rocket from his arm. No sooner had it emerged than the rocket's motor fired and it veered around and dove between X's legs, zooming behind him and exploding in front of Boomer Kuwanger, breaking the latter's charge. Though it stunned him, the missile did less damage than X hoped.

"That's more like it! Come on, X, show me what you've got!" Kuwanger raised his right arm and the nacelled opening on his forearm began to glow. Green energy cutters shot from the projector, and X rolled aside as they burned through carpet on the floor and sliced apart pipes and machinery in the ceiling. He responded with three more Homing Torpedoes. Kuwanger teleported, but the missiles veered around and slammed into him. He teleported again behind X just as the latter shot another missile at his previous location. Kuwanger seized X from behind, hoping to use the latter to absorb the missile. X managed to slip out of his grasp at the last minute, and the rocket destroyed Kuwanger's helmet and upper body.

"Well done...X...you're...stronger...than...even I thought..." Kuwanger managed to say before shutting down from his damage. X saluted Kuwanger before copying his weapon and teleporting away. Though the Reploid had never been the social type X had gotten to know him well through several missions together. Kuwanger's agility and quick fighting style perfectly complemented X's hard-hitting buster and reactive armor, and the two had become a powerful team until Kuwanger was reassigned to the position of bodyguard.

* * *

**Throne Room, Sigma Palace**

Sigma sighed as he watched Kuwanger's demise. Though he had never known the latter Reploid to be arrogant during his time as a Hunter, the onset of the rebellion seemed to have changed Kuwanger the most among all of his men. It had bitten him hard.

X's reaction to Kuwanger was unexpected. Again Sigma found himself reminded of his rather distant relation to X outside the chain of Hunter command; despite his interest in X he still knew nothing of the latter's life. A good thing, he supposed, but it made gauging the blue bomber that much harder. He ordered a recovery drone to retrieve his leiutenant's remains and sent the order to withdraw from the Civic Tower.

Though by all outward appearances Sigma's rebellion was falling apart, he wasn't worried. X may be able to break his armies and henchmen, but those battles would be nothing compared to what he would pit against the blue bomber once the Hunters inevitably invaded his fortress. And, of course, there was the matter of Sigma himself. Not even Zero had managed to best Sigma, and when he started his rebellion he had felled both X and Zero with a single thrust of his saber. And should X defeat him, Sigma still had one last trump card that was almost finished.

_"No,"_ the Maverick leader thought to himself, _"I won't fail. X will make it far enough for me to see his true potential, but he can't defeat me. It won't be a pushover like before, but he still won't have a chance, assuming Vile and the other three generals don't get him first."_

Sigma suddenly opened communcations with Vile. "I know you've been out strengthening yourself to fight X, Vile. Now it's time for you to put those new powers to the test. You have new orders: intercept X at any location he appears. Withdraw whenever you've taken critical damage. I still want you as part of the palace defenses once the Hunters invade."

"Guess I can't say no to that -"

"I never gave you a choice, Vile. You will do as you are told. And if it gets you what you want, why do you care?" With that Sigma cut the transmission and monitored Storm Eagle and Teal while they watched the sunset. He wasn't interested in their relationship, but he had to make sure they weren't taking advantage of him.

* * *

**Author's Note: So if you can't tell by the leadup, the boss rush isn't going to happen the way it does in game. I apologize for the massive block just about Boomer Kuwanger, but I haven't explained his character often like I did with Storm Eagle.**


	9. That Stings

**Hunter Base**

X stepped out of the teleporter array, hoping nobody would notice the gaping holes in his chest before he got to the repair bay. To his surprise, Zero was waiting for him.

"Hey, I saw you take out Boomer Kuwanger. You know, I think he was more correct than either of us want to admit..." X groaned good-naturedly. Only Zero would encourage people this way.

"I just hope this blows over soon so I can get this armor off before the power gets to me."

"What? You're throwing away your best chance at becoming a S Hunter!"

"I want to be a S Hunter like you, Zero, I really do. But I want to earn that rank by virtue of my skill, not my power. It's not fair to the others if I get the S rank because of a few upgrades my old man gave me. And besides, you know I like to rely on my skills as much as possible whenever lives are at stake. Our bodies, armored though they may be, are still sensitive to damage. If my power's gone then my ranking is hollow and I've failed. The only difference in that case is that I would get more hate from humans if I were S rank rather than B rank."

They had reached the repair bay and X walked in. "I'll see ya in a few hours. Going to take a while to fix Kuwanger's damage."

Zero sighed and waved goodbye to his friend. Sometimes he didn't understand his friend's manifestations of fairness and honesty. Then again, he was Dr. Light's son in every sense...

* * *

**Titanium Park, Abel City**

Sting Chameleon grunted with satisfaction as a transport delivering Ride Armors arrived in a clearing in Titanium Park's forest. Now he just needed to find enough Reploids to man them.

The park had a long history, dating back from the time of the original Mega Man. The trees were once the genuine things, however they had been destroyed when Wood Man attacked the park in the second of Dr. Wily's attacks. Since then, the trees were made of synthetic wood and leaves, and the interior of the trunks were filled with machinery that could generate them. The other flora was natural, but removed after Wily's repeated attacks on the city had left the park in chronic states of damage. Once Wily's attacks had ceased painstaking efforts were taken to restore the park and create a true green space. However the trees had remained, and the fact that it recovered from the damage of Sigma's missile attack quickly had turned it into the city's strongest symbol of resolve.

When Sting Chameleon invaded the park, Sigma had ordered him to minimize physical damage to the park but deface it as much as possible as a symbolic gesture. Thus, Sting Chameleon had reconfigured the trees to grow a synthetic tropical jungle, and his army had torn up the paths and stolen the various statues in the park. The affair had very real potential to be a PR fiasco and Sigma knew it, however he had to break the city's morale to have the greatest chance of forcing X to step up. However it had gone better than he could have hoped for; Sting Chameleon's stealth and the park's lack of strategic importance had managed to fool the public into thinking it was a mass attack of the Maverick Militia and not Sigma.

Sting Chameleon himself was a bit of a thorn in Sigma's side though, since he also had not chosen to join the rebellion of his own accord. Though Sting Chameleon had, much like Vile, an ambition to prove his strength, it wasn't enough to persuade him, and he had been one of the four Mavericks who had led the attempt to break the hostages out of Sigma Palace. The fact that Vile had been locked up at the time for trying to challenge Sigma to battle at the time wasn't a small factor, either, and both Sting Chameleon and his superior knew it. Thus Sigma had kept Vile away from Sting Chameleon until the Cain kidnapping, where he could be sure that the purple Reploid would follow his orders and thus could also trust Sting Chameleon as well. Since Vile seemed to have sided with Sigma, if his presence here supposedly on Sigma's orders was anything to go by, Sting Chameleon had faked allegiance. After all, Vile hadn't behaved out of the ordinary, adapting Sting Chameleon's weaponry in the hopes of finding new hardware to challenge X with. However Storm Eagle had contacted him before Vile arrived and notified him that they had been installed with an override to prevent direct betrayal.

That cemented it. To learn that Sigma was only toying with Sting Chameleon had enraged him, and Storm Eagle's confidement that X could help them in their objective of rescuing Sigma's hostages had allowed the former to forget his dislike of the blue bomber enough to go along. But he would have to get this virus out of his programming, and there was only one way to do that...

* * *

**Hunter Base, 3 hours later**

Zero put his magazine down as X walked out of the repair bay. His friend noticed what Zero was reading and chuckled. "There's no greater way to prove a Reploid human, Zero..."

Zero gave a low chuckle and casually swept the magazine behind his back. "To every Reploid his pleasures, X. You moving out again?"

"Yeah, Sting Chameleon's lair."

"Alright, do you want me to go with you?"

"Actually, I wouldn't mind you actually fighting alongside me. Direct combat, not just watching. Figured you were getting really bored if you were 'reading' a Playboy magazine..."

"Shh! Say it any louder and even Sigma will hear."

_"Was that embarassment in Zero's tone?" _X barely managed to suppress a smirk. "Don't be ashamed of it man, you know almost everyone here develops that part of their emotion matrix eventually. Some of us learn to manage, some like Storm Eagle take it further, and some go Maverick over it. Anyhow, I - _we'd_ better get going."

* * *

**Titanium Park**

Sting Chameleon stood stunned for a moment before ordering his Ride Armor battalions after Zero. The red robot could disable and destroy them easily, but less so than the other troops Sting Chameleon had at his disposal. Cursing Sigma for not providing him with heavier hardware, Sting Chameleon could only pray that Zero didn't make it to him first. While X might understand Sting Chameleon's predicament and try to be merciful, Zero would have no such qualms.

* * *

"Aw hell, looks like we gotta split up." Zero dashed off in a separate direction while X dove for cover behind a tree. The Ride Armor pilots trampled after Zero, whose red armor stood out brilliantly against the green foliage. X sighed with relief and began to tackle Sting Chameleon's remaining defenses. As an Axe Max threw a log segment at him, he dropped into a trench. As he hit the bottom he realized it was half-flooded with...seawater? X spat the brackish mud out of his mouth and disabled the Axe Max before taking stock of the trench. Apparently several storm drains had overflowed and deluged their contents across the park. X remembered that tide and vortex generators had been part of Launch Octopus's blockade defenses, but he didn't understand how they could permanently flood the park, even if it was one of the lowest points in the city.

X brushed the thoughts aside and destroyed an Amenhopper with a Boomerang Cutter. The cutter snagged one of the dead minion's power cells, and X snagged it and transferred the energy to his partially-filled subtank. The tank's indicator light suddenly changed to green and X smiled with satisfaction. Now all three of his subtanks were filled, should he need them. He suddenly saw the cutter embedded in the earth in front of him, and picked it up. As he did, the weapon disappeared, and his weapon energy meter suddenly returned to full. Impressed despite not understanding fully how this worked, X moved on.

The path had become much more uneven, and X suddenly tripped over a small shrub lying in the middle of the path. As he wondered who would be stupid or clumsy enough to plant one here, the Planty lifted its disguise and began throwing Iworms out of its head. X scrambled to his feet and put down both the Met and its worm helpers. He decided to risk switching to thermal vision despite the heat of the day; it would give him at least a small chance at discovering them before they took by surprise again.

Advancing further along the path, X discovered a cave. As he neared it the ceiling began to shake and rocks fell. X could barely make out the heat signature of a large mech standing atop the cave, and moved to deal with it first. Though his helmet could probably absorb the blows he didn't need to feel like his head was encased in a chronically ringing bell. As soon as he came within RT-55J's sight the mech swung its massive claw. X dodged it and fired a Storm Tornado at the head. The robot's heavy armor deflected the wind without easily, but X fired a Boomerang Cutter straight into the chain connecting the now-retracting claw to the body. To his surprise, the cutter sliced through the heavy chain with ease, and the claw thudded to the ground. RT-55J paused for a second, unsure of what had happened, but in that second X had caught the boomeranging cutter and stabbed one pointed end straight into the mech's eye. The robot muttered something that sounded like "hyperbolt" before shutting down.

Suddenly there was a rumble and X saw another Light Capsule appear. Next to it X noticed a picture of Dr. Light, standing with a green robot similar to the one he'd just destroyed. He realized it was RightTot, one of Dr. Light's helpers. Surely this was another trick by Sigma to confuse him. X dropped the photo and walked over to the capsule. The voice of Dr. Light spoke as he approached.

"This capsule contains a new type of reactive armor that will halve the amount of energy needed to regenerate." X stepped into the capsule and with a flash of light, his white, gold, and blue armor was complete. X admired his completed armor for a few seconds before dropping back down. He misjudged his position and fell straight into a pit. X winced as his boots grazed the energy spikes at the bottom, but he had barely avoided them. He noticed some of the wall was destructible, and used his head and feet to break it open. He saw another Heart Tank on the far side of a vast cavern.

_"I don't think I can even dash-jump that far."_ X looked for another way to acquire the tank and suddenly realized that the cavern was underwater. _"I just hope the additional buoyancy is enough to carry me over there..." _X steadied himself and took the leap of faith, trying not to look down at the massive bed of spikes that awaited him should he fall short. To his surprise, he made the jump with plenty of distance to spare, and once he'd installed the Heart Tank he leapt across the room again without fear and climbed back into the main cavern.

The rocks had stopped falling, and X sighed with relief at not having to deal with the noise and hazard. Suddenly a huge boulder detached from the ceiling and fell. X instinctively fired at it, but the shot bounced off. _"That's no boulder!"_ No sooner had the thought crosaed his mind than the rock unfolded itself and revealed a head, arms, and legs. It stomped the ground and another rock fell into its outstretched hands, but before the Crag Man could throw his projectile X blew his head off with a charged shot. The robot's own crude weapon crushed its remains, but X had already passed and didn't witness the ironic scene.

After destroying several more Crag Men, X climbed out of the cavern and found himself facing a relatively empty section of the park, with only several of its famous trees standing. Suddenly, Creepers were hurled from the trees. X blasted them out of the air and began searching for a way to shut off the assault of flying caterpillars. Ducking behind a tree, he looked up and saw a Mad Pecker throw another Creeper at him. X shot the robotic bird from its perch and moved on.

* * *

Sting Chameleon watched with a mixture of elation and shock as X blasted his defenses aside. _"That stupid RT-55J must have dislodged the camoflauge netting I'd put around the top of the cliff,"_ he thought with annoyance. Regardless, it was obvious now that X would reach him first and by a comfortable margin; though Zero had managed to destroy four Ride Armors, cripple six more, and hijack one for himself, there were still over two hundred of them left, not including the five Sting Chameleon had left behind as last-line-of-defense guards.

Suddenly Sting Chameleon's eyes shot to the viewscreen and he cursed as he saw X had knocked out one of the Reploids driving a Ride Armor and comandeered it. He ordered his remaining Ride Armors to draw back and mob X as a group, but one of them was destroyed before it could retreat and another foolishly turned to fight when X caught up to it. The smaller Amenhoppers and Sine Fallers were pulverized by the Ride Armor's fists, but Sting Chameleon ordered them forward to distract X while he set up a final defense. It wasn't as though he secretly didn't want the blue bomber to reach him, but he had to put on a convincing show for Sigma.

* * *

X smashed the last Amenhopper and cursed as the explosion disabled the Ride Armor. Wonderful; now he'd have to fight three more without a Ride Armor of his own. They would be watching each other's back to make sure he couldn't steal one either. Before X could make another move Zero burst out of the foliage and blasted one. X immeidately dragged a pilot out and disabled the last one quickly.

"Thanks Zero, what happened to the other..." X's voice trailed off as the ground began to shake. He could see the silhouettes of dozens, if not hundreds, of Ride Armors approaching.

"X, go! I'll keep them distracted!"

"But..."

"I've held them off for this long without much damage; I can do it for a little bit longer. Now go!"

X felt like he was leaving his friend for dead, but nonetheless he ducked into the cave that served as Sting Chameleon's command center as the Ride Armor battalions shook the earth in their pursuit of Zero.

Sting Chameleon was waiting. "Nyahaha! Hello, X!"

"So Sigma's managed to pull you into this too? Why have you fallen in with him?"

"Some of us can't help it, X. Your chum Storm Eagle's not the only one in an awkward position. Do you know why it took us a week to follow up our missile strike? Because Sigma had to put down an attempt to rescue the hostages."

"What...?"

"Nyahaha! But the Hunters didn't inform you of that, did they? No, because all of us are 'baddies', aren't we, because Sigma's emblem is on our heads? Well, look X, this world isn't clearly divided into good and evil. However it _is_ divided between those of us working for Sigma and those against. Alas, in that case, everyone's betrayed you..."

"Then...you want me to...destroy you..."

"So, you figured it out, hmm? Nyahaha! Then it's time to fight!" Sting Chameleon disappeared as he uttered those words. Even X's thermal vision went dark.

"Right behind you!" Sting Chameleon jeered and lashed out with his tongue. The iron-balled end of it smashed into the back of X's helmet, but the new reactive armor did its work to minimize the damage. X switched back to normal vision, knowing now his thermal imaging was useless. Suddenly he saw a slight disturbance in the background, and as he moved away from it, it moved towards the ceiling. "Drat, you figured me out!" Sting Chameleon dropped his cloak and threw a barrage of spines from his tail. X scaled a wall to avoid them but immediately rammed his head into the spikes on the ceiling. Thankfully they weren't charged with energy, but they pierced his helmet and head with ease. X cried out in pain and fell to the ground, clutching his head as various mechanical fluids leaked from the holes in his helmet. The spikes had missed critical components by mere millimeters, and the damage around the sensitive head area of his body was enough to overload his systems.

Sting Chameleon paused at the top of the ceiling before camoflauging again. He wanted X to win, but he couldn't make it look like that. He knew Sigma would be watching. Fortunately X managed to get to his feet before the hesitation became paramount. Sting Chameleon decloaked above X and lashed his tongue into the ceiling. The bulbous tip caught in one of several holes and Sting Chameleon rocked his body back and forth. As he did so, the ceiling shook and the spikes began to fall, one at a time but in rapid succession. X unleashed a charged Boomerang Cutter, and four high-energy projectiles sliced through Sting Chameleon's body, cutting his tongue, tail, and two of his legs off. The Reploid recovered quickly, camoflauging and appearing behind X again. Like Launch Octopus, his tail and tongue regenerated very quickly so long as they weren't completely destroyed, and X recieved a spiky tail lash to the back. Though they didn't penetrate the blunt force threw X into the opposite wall. Sting Chameleon growled and his tail raised, the tip glowing green. Suddenly, spreads of lasers began to fill the room. X yelped as one of them grazed his face, but the whole time he was blindly firing back with Boomerang Cutters and buster pellets. One lucky cutter sliced the Chameleon Sting attachment to the Reploid's tail off, rendering the weapon useless.

Surprised, Sting Chameleon camoflauged again, this time climbing up some of the many vines that decorated the room. X dashed over and copied the weapon data from the severed piece. No sooner had he done so than Sting Chameleon dropped down on him from above, attempting to bear-hug him to gouge the spikes as deeply as possible into X's body. X fired a charged Chameleon Sting, but to his horror, nothing happened.

"What?!" squawked Sting Chameleon incredulously. X looked down and saw his body was a kaledioscope of colors, and Sting Chameleon's spiky limbs were...passing _through_ him? Then he realized the Reploid couldn't see him at all.

_"Sweet!"_ X easily escaped Sting Chameleon's grasp and quickly fired off two more Boomerang Cutters. The razor-sharp weapons dismembered Sting Chameleon completely, and the surprised Reploid fell to the ground along with several vines that had been cut in the process. "Fin...Finish me..."

X raised his buster, then lowered it. It might bring Sting Chameleon to his side in the long run, but it still wasn't right. "X, do it, please! Before he takes..." Sting Chameleon's frantic words were suddenly cut off and replaced by a monotone. What was left of his body went rigid. "Self-destruct protocools initiated. Too bad, you didn't act fast enough, X." Immediately, X shot Sting Chameleon through the head, destroying his primary circuits and stopping the self-destruct.

"I'm...sorry, Sting Chameleon. Even if you didn't like me while you were with the Hunters, you didn't deserve that. I...failed you." X bowed his head for a few seconds before teleporting out. Sigma's words from his days as the Hunters' commander came back to him.

_"There are times when we Maverick Hunters cannot hesitate to pull the trigger."_ Even more painful were the words he had spoken as he launched the missile strike. _"Now's your chance, X. Fire!...What's the matter? Shoot!...You can't do it, can you X?"_

Sigma's mocking laughter continued to ring in X's head after his flashback had ended. Then, he realized it was real. X stumbled back and fell over as he saw Sigma holding Zero by the neck. The Reploid leader laughed and repeated his words from their first encounter again. X raised his buster and fired without hesitation, but though the shot miraculously missed Zero, it passed through Sigma, who discarded Zero and advanced upon X, saber drawn. _"It seems you _have_ learned your lesson from our previous encounter, X. Your victories thus far have been impressive; you do indeed have the potential I saw in you. But you still can't hope to stand against me!"_ Sigma had now backed X into a corner, and he raised his saber and held it like a knight about deliver the finishing blow.

"No!" X cried and raised his arms in a vain attempt to block the saber. Suddenly, his systems finally succumbed to their damage and he began to black out. "Hold on, X! I'm almost there!" he heard Zero say over the radio. Before he realized that Zero couldn't be in two places at once, he blacked out.

* * *

**Throne Room, Sigma Palace**

Sigma laughed with satisfaction as he watched X's reaction to his own hallucination, a result of trace amounts of the Sigma Virus being transferred when X copied Sting Chameleon's weapon without destroying him first. Naturally, due to the nature of the vision, Sigma had full access to X's mind in that time and had seen the whole thing from the blue bomber's perspective. Interestingly, X's last act, albeit subconcious, was to purge the Sigma Virus from his coding before it spread any further.

That was something interesting. No Reploid had been able to shake off the virus, let alone do it while so badly damaged. Not even Zero could do that, though the virus had acted differently in his case. However, Sigma was more concerned about Sting Chameleon's seeming intent to die. Could Dr. Cain be...Sigma cursed and immediately stormed out of the throne room. As he did so, he ordered every Reploid repaired by Dr. Cain to have the Sigma Virus re-downloaded into the programming to be safe. He couldn't afford betrayal, especially from his generals, once X reached his fortress.

And he needed to have a talk with the doctor...

* * *

**Hunter Base**

"Is X going to be okay?" Zero asked worriedly as the repair technicians worked on his friend's lifeless body.

"It doesn't look like he's sustained personality damage, but his systems have always been a little bit difficult to repair. We'll do our best."

"Wait...no AI damage at all? Even though he was infected with Sigma Virus?"

"It seems so. It's clear that the virus infected him and the infection showed symptoms right after he defeated Sting Chameleon, but it's gone now. We can't find any trace of it."

"That's not possible! The virus must be hiding in his program!"

"Calm down, Zero. His system log clearly shows that it deleted the virus, and not even our most advanced decrypters have been able to disable its tamperproofing."

Zero relaxed a little bit at that before addressing his friend. "That's another one you owe me, buddy. I'll see you when you wake up." Zero walked back to the teleporter array to help the Hunters clear out the last entrenched Maverick Militia and plan the assault on their base.

* * *

**Repair Bay, Sigma Palace**

"Oh dear, another one." Cain sighed resignedly as one of the Reploids who'd survived the massive Ride Armor brawl in Titanium park was brought in.

"Perhaps you should let me repair the AI on this one, Doctor. I can handle the humanoid ones," Doppler assured Cain.

"Very well, I shall leave you to it, Doppler. I will go attend to Sting Chameleon's repairs and restoration."

Cain was deeply worried, though Sigma hadn't given any indication that he knew of Cain's small act of dissidence, the doctor knew that Sigma suspected something was up. Cain's countermeasure produced a digital signature similar to that of the proper virus, and it would take very advanced scanners for a Reploid to passively or actively. Only by running the AI on Reploid-simulation software would any difference be discovered. Sigma hadn't taken it to that level yet, but it was only a matter of time. Cain just hoped X could reach the palace soon...

* * *

As Sigma walked out of the repair bay, he recieved a transmission from the Maverick Militia leader.

"Sigma, what is this? You promised me that your forces would support our operations!"

"I promised you no such thing, Commander, and you should realize that nothing comes free from me. Your own presumptuousness will be your undoing."

"Treachery!" the militia leader hissed.

"Only to a political neophyte such as yourself," Sigma sneered. "And for that matter, your fighting skills aren't much better than your political ones. I hear your forces are taking heavy losses from the Hunters and military?"

"Ever since the Hunters managed to secure several of our arms caches, we've been short on arms and ammo. I've had to send men into battle unarmed."

"Again your naivete shows."

"What's that supposed to mean?!"

"I have several transports loaded with Ride Armors and weaponry inbound to your primary base. Use these arms well." Pushing aside the rebel leader's furious spluttering of disbelief, Sigma added, "Don't let your pride get in the way, Commander. Should you need aid I would gladly have provided it had you asked. All I require is a show of acknowledgement of our alliance." At this point the Militia commander's voice had failed him and he was slowly turning red. "If you confide completely in someone by making a pact such as ours, then you should be willing to confide in them completely no matter what. You may have risen to lead a ragtag army of Reploids through a popularity contest, but your popularity will not save you when the Hunters come calling _en masse_ or when you need to be a true leader."

Without another word, Sigma cut the transmission, smiling to himself at his "ally" and his childish reaction. Like Vile he was dangerous in that he had an ego bigger than his body. Sigma pushed the thoughts aside and reflected on his conversation with his maker. He wasn't completely convinced Cain hadn't disobeyed his orders, but he was inclined to that conclusion. Either way, the Sigma Virus redownload would ensure that his generals would not turn against their leader.

* * *

**Author's note: Sorry for the relatively long time it took to get these last two chapters up, summer school's coming to an end and that means finals. With those out of the way I can get back to writing. I hope to have the next chapter up within a few days.**


	10. Power Failure

**Author's note: Sting Chameleon, Storm Eagle, and Boomer Kuwanger got higher amounts of characterization because of their unique reason for joining Sigma. The fourth leader is an OC who is now dead. It sounds kinda like a crappy retcon, I know, but I couldn't find another one of the eight Mavericks who had a personality/canon reasons to imply they could have such doubts. This chapter might produce a replacement...**

* * *

X's systems had rebooted to the point of subconciousness once Zero had reached him, and the blue bomber was lost in the sea of his own thoughts. He sensed some sort of battle raging within his systems, yet he felt as though he were a prize being fought over, not a belligerant.

_"Curse you, Albert. Causing death and destruction long after your death. I can't stop you completely from doing that, but I won't let you harm my son!"_ X was sure the voice belonged to Dr. Light, but...how? He was long dead. He'd heard of experiments in preserving people's personalities in Reploid bodies, but they were new and whatever remains of Dr. Light, assuming there were any, had never been found.

X slipped back into unconciousness as the exertion of expelling the Sigma Virus began to take its toll. But he felt comforted by the fact that someone or something was still watching out for him, even if only within the confines of his mind...

* * *

**Repair Bay, Hunter Base**

X gasped and sat bolt upright as his systems fully rebooted. One of the repair techs placed a gentle hand on his shoulder and guided him back to a resting position.

"We're nearly done, X. Just a little longer." X looked around and suddenly noticed Zero standing nearby. He smiled and felt a rush of gratefulness for his friend.

While the repair techs finished their work Zero filled his friend in on what happened as best as he could. "Your memory logs are so encrypted we can't access them, so I have no idea what you saw."

X sighed and waited for the technicians to finish their work.

* * *

**Throne Room, Sigma Palace**

"Vile, get in here! I told you to intercept X! Not only did you fail to stop him, but you returned to me alive and didn't even sortie to meet him! _Explain yourself!_" Sigma's uncharacteristic anger belay how infuriated he was.

The purple Reploid kept his head down but said nothing. Sigma's eyes glowed dangerously at the lack of reaction. "_Answer me!_"

"I'm not fighting for that cocksucking lizard. And you should be aware of his ulterior motives."

"_Do not lecture me, Vile! You are a soldier in my army, and you will do as you are told!_" Sigma drew his saber as he spoke. A tense standoff ensued for several seconds before Sigma calmed down. "You have two more chances to prove yourself, Vile. Meet X at both locations he will go to. That will be your last chance. If you dare shirk your duties again you will not live to confront X again. _Am I understood?_"

Vile nodded and walked out of the throne room, leaving a seething Sigma behind.

* * *

**Power Plant Alpha, Abel City**

Spark Mandrill grumbled as one of his minions reported no success in bringing any generators online. His defenses were as weak as ever, and X could show up at any minute.

His forces had taken over one of Abel City's five power plants at the start of Sigma's rebellion, and though they couldn't secure them all they had taken the largest, giving them significant leverage over the city's power supply. This was the only plant that didn't require fuel to operate, and with Abel City's port only recently freed from Launch Octopus's blockade two of them had exhausted their fuel stocks, while another was barely in operation and the last one, a nuclear plant, was deactivated and locked down after a Militia attack almost resulted in radiation leakage.

This plant was the primary one for good reason: its location meant it could use both the ocean breezes and tides to generate power in addition to using the current of a nearby river. These three combined means of renewable energy gave the plant enormous output regardless of the weather, and Sigma knew the city would be brought to its knees without electric power.

However, Sigma had left the plant operational and delivering power free of charge once Spark Mandrill took it over. The message couldn't have been clearer: though Sigma held humanity at his mercy he wouldn't kill them off if Reploids could be freed another way. Of course, the Hunters had been quick to spread propaganda to sham Sigma, aided by the fact that the _Death Rogumer _crash had taken the plant's transformers and automatic controls offline. Though none of the turbines had been damaged, without an AI to monitor them they had automatically disconnected their generators.

X teleported amongst the remains of the _Death Rogumer_, which had crashed into the plant three days earlier. Ignoring the ruins as best as he could, X moved further into the plant as it was plunged into complete darkness. Spark Mandrill had disconnected the power...?

Before X could ponder the matter the lights flickered back on. _"Must be a result of the _Death Rogumer _crash,"_ he thought and blasted a Gun Volt. X knew Mandrill had been given a subtank as well when he was with the Hunters, and a quick scan revealed a branching path that would take him to it. X climbed down a ladder and shot another pair of Gun Volts before running into a wall. Puzzled, X realized the subtank was completely enclosed within its own room.

He couldn't break this wall with his head or feet without damaging himself severely in the process, and his buster shots passed through it. A thought suddenly occured to X and he switched to Boomerang Cutter. To his dismay the cutter lodged in the wall. When he pulled it out, however, X saw that it had left a deep gash in the metallic surface. X pulled the cutter out of the wall and began slashing at the wall with the bladed edge. Soon he had chopped out a section of wall. However his scans showed there was an electromagnetic field surrounding the tank. X threw the cutter, and one of the tips looped around the subtank and brought it back safely.

He threw several more cutters at the remains of the Gun Volts in the vicinity, and two of them retrieved power cells. X transferred the energy and backtracked to the path branch. This time he took the other path. Suddenly the floor under X's feet sparked. He jumped slightly at the flash but the system's power supply was too low to charge a pulse that could damage his systems.

As X moved on past the wreckage of the Gun Volts, the lights went out again. X blindly stumbled into something and jumped over it, but upon walking forward another step his foot met only air. X jumped back in surprise and switched to night vision. No sooner had he done so than he was blinded as a Hotarion screeched out of nowhere, leaving behind a dim glow that still managed to overwhelm his night vision. X instinctively raised his buster, but the lightning-fast minion had already slammed into him and moved on, disappearing into a hole in the wall without a check in speed. _"Okay, so I have to do this the hard way...or not."_ X suddenly remembered his newest weapon.

Switching to Chameleon Sting, he charged it and disappeared. The Hotarions rocketed blindly across the room trying to find him, but to no avail. Nothing touched him and he remained invisible until he had crossed the entire room and disappeared down a ladder.

As soon as he did so a pair of red glows emerged from the end of the darkened hallway. The lights turned on and X saw Vile standing there.

"Don't even try to pull that fancy magic trick of yours, X." No sooner had the words left Vile's mouth than X had turned invisible again. "Fuck you! Come and fight me properly, you pussy!" Vile began firing his weapons wildly, and his electric prison caster scored a hit, trapping X and removing his invisibility, though X promptly escaped his prison. "Now...we will have a _proper_ fight, and you forfeited your right to a quick death!"

With that, Vile attacked with his newest weapon: the Popcorn Demon. X jumped back as the missile split into three and shot down one of them before dodging the others in the space he had created. Vile filled the narrow corridor with the spreading rockets before unleashing several Metal Crescents. The cutters arced towards X, but he managed to dodge them at the expense of several rockets exploding against his armor. Vile cocked his cannon and unleashed a Fatboy in the confined corridor. X braced himself for the impact; the massive energy shot took up the entire hallway. His new armor managed to weather the Fatboy without too much damage, but Vile remained as strong as ever. He dashed at X, and the latter had a flashback to his fight with Boomer Kuwanger. Switching to Homing Torpedoes, X fired off two. One struck Vile's head, the other his right arm. X followed it up with a charged attack, and Vile was greeted by five homing drones to the face. The explosions obscured Vile long enough for the latter to fire off an Infinity Gig. The homing fist bashed X repeatedly and hard, but X managed to escape with another Chameleon Sting, blasting Vile with several of the spread shots as he fled. The rocket fist returned to Vile, and he roared in anger, but X had already escaped.

X continued to follow the hallway and the flight of stairs it led to. As soon as he exited the stairwell, the door slammed shut with a booming finality. Leery of any threats, X continued on, but he didn't encounter anything until he reached a room with a large slime-encased robot hanging from the ceiling.

Another repurposed civilian robot, Thunder Slimer was originally a master cleaning and repair drone which could send out smaller versions of itself to do its bidding. The slime it produced was designed to stick to grime and other pollutants, making it ideal for cleaning the delicate machinery of the power plant. However, the minions were slow-moving and always returned to the mother unit, so Spark Mandrill had them removed and replaced with a weapon system. The immense power demands of the electric shocks meant it had to plug into the electrified ceiling to charge its weapon, and with the power out, that system was effectively useless.

X pitied the drone as its weapon system shot harmless sparks across the ground, but there was nothing he could do as it was barring his way. A charged Storm Tornado ripped away the robot's protective slime coating and began to shred the unarmored drone, but its body held and the coating regenerated. Several large globules of it fell onto the floor, and X slipped as he walked on one of them. As soon as he lost his footing the gel contracted, pulling him into it and rooting him to the spot. Thunder Slimer suddenly dropped down from the ceiling, aiming straight for him. In desperation, X fired a charged shot at his foot. To his surprise, the slime absorbed the whole of it and vaporized. X dove aside as the massive robot crashed to the ground in front of him.

X fired another Storm Tornado, the wind ripping the robot's slime pipes out of their sockets. With its protection system disabled, Thunder Slimer retreated to the ceiling, but it only had seconds to live as X finished it off with another charged Storm Tornado. The entire room began to shake and the robot crashed to the ground. X had mind to throw several Boomerang Cutters to retrieve the robot's power cells, and as they returned to him X dashed out of the room as it collapsed. Once he was outside, he began to transfer the energy to his subtanks.

* * *

Spark Mandrill cursed and pounded his viewscreen with his drill arm. This damned power outage was making a mockery of his defenses, and the fact that X kept turning invisible and circumventing the more tightly-packed defenses wasn't helping. He had known Sigma's plan was going to backfire, and now he was going to have to set things right by destroying X. Why did he of all people have to act as pest control? Did nobody else see the true magnitude of the threat X posed?

His thoughts were interrupted as he saw X installing a Heart Tank. Mandrill didn't know how it had gotten there, but Sigma ordered him not to touch it. A shame, the extra energy could have come in handy; however Spark Mandrill was not one to question his superior's orders. The Reploid suddenly raised his hand to the ceiling and infused it with as much energy as he could spare, which, though an extremely high charge, could not sustain the plant's systems. Without a power source, the backup batteries had long since been drained, and even Spark Mandrill's own power supply remained very finite despite being an electric-based robot.

* * *

X climbed past the remains of a Mega Tortoise and immediately the room went dark. As he suspected, he took another step forward and a Hotarion screeched towards him. X blasted it and switched to Chameleon Sting again. Once more Spark Mandrill's minions went beserk trying to find him, and again they failed. X snuck inside the command center as his invisibility expired.

"X...you showed up."

"Spark Mandrill...don't force me to fight you. I want to settle this peacefully."

"X, I don't think that's possible. You're opposing Sigma, and that means I have to stop you."

"What Sigma is doing is Maverick behavior! If you're taking orders from him then you're a Maverick too!"

"Have you ever considered this from Sigma's perspective, X? Have you ever considered the possibility the Hunters and humans are using you? Look at this; we have been blamed for isolating the city after _you_ sent that damn airship crashing into this place! Before that we were powering the city as normal, and free of charge to boot! That includes your puny little Hunter Base! And yet you paint yourselves as the 'good guys' trying to take down a bunch of backstabbing liars who backed out on their promise because their power plant went offline when an airship hit it!"

X stood speechless for a moment. It was true that a lot of things about Sigma's generals and actions had been whitewashed by the government of Abel City. "It doesn't matter, Spark Mandrill. Sigma has killed humans in his rebellion whether he wanted to minimize casualties or not. That doesn't change the fact he's gone Maverick. Remember his own definition: a rouge mechanaloid that harms humans."

"I don't like thinking about this too much, X. The world has become very confusing for someone like me..."

"Then can we please not fight, Spark Mandrill? There are those of us who disagree with what the human government is doing and are just trying to minimize the damage. As you said, the world isn't clearly divided. That's not just true for your side; it's true for ours as well." Spark Mandrill hesistated, so X pressed on. "Just let some humans enter the power plant to repair it, and we'll let you withdraw. Neither of us gets harmed, and Hunter Base doesn't need to know about this. We'll make it clear that Sigma let them in; I promise to make a positive image out of this."

"X...you should know by now that I can't do that. Sigma has us all by the neck whether we joined willingly or not." X sighed. He had known about the Sigma Virus, but he still held on to the vain hope that he could negotiate.

"Then...I must put you down, Spark Mandrill."

"Do your duty...Maverick Hunter X. You have given me pause in my thoughts, but I am bound to Sigma in my actions." With that, Spark Mandrill raised his hand and launched a purple pulse of energy at X. The Electric Spark burst apart into thousands of small electric tendrils upon striking the ground, but X was already moving. Spark Mandrill pounded the ground and sent two massive spheres of purple electricity across the ground. X wall-climbed to avoid it, but the electric balls hugged the wall and X was forced to dash-jump to dodge them. Mandrill gave X no respite before dashing at him, his fist glowing with energy. X scaled a wall to dodge him, but Mandrill simply pounded the wall and X fell off, landing in the Reploid's outstretched fist. Spark Mandrill began shocking X with strong pulses of electricity.

X desperately switched to Chameleon Sting, but to his horror he didn't have enough weapon energy to turn invisible again. Mandrill dropped X and changed his fist to a drill, charging it with electricity in the process. The Reploid raised his drill, preparing to deliver a devastating if not fatal blow. X desperately fired every weapon he had while rolling out of the way of Mandrill's slow but powerful blows. Homing Torpedoes short-circuited in the residual electrical field, Boomerang Cutters only scratched Mandrill's armor, and almost everything else didn't even leave marks. Almost.

To X's immense surprise, the Shotgun Ice pellet not only froze Mandrill's fist, but ran through his power circuits and froze him from the inside out. After a few seconds the frozen figure trembled and broke out, but X froze him again and again until Spark Mandrill's body overloaded and he exploded. X walked over to the shattered remains of his internal dynamo and copied his weapon data.

"X..." a faint voice spoke. "Thank you for making it quick. I may yet be able to act of my own accord..." Before he could finish, Spark Mandrill's remains shut down from the immense damage he'd sustained. X stood silently for a few moments, his head bowed, before teleporting out. For the first time, he found genuine hate for Sigma welling up within him. Despite everything his former commander had done to him, his friends, and the world, X had always felt as if he were hating Sigma partially on behalf of others. There was no such feeling now.

Spark Mandrill was not his friend nor enemy, but merely someone who was "straddling the fence" as humans put it. But Sigma had forced him to make a choice; whether for good or evil, it was nothing short of enslavement regardless. X could forgive his friends because he knew they were under the Sigma Virus's influence, but he could not forgive Spark Mandrill for trying to kill him because he had no such bond with him, and that angered X the most. Making him hold a grudge against a Reploid simply because he had commited an unforgivable crime against his will. As if he were merely Sigma's playpen.

X sighed and struggled to rein in his anger. It soon became apparent that he could not and he smashed the wall with his fist with a yell. He did so again and again, pretending the wall was Sigma's face. He didn't know why he venting his rage now of all times, but he let his rage control his mind as he pounded the walls until the metal skin of his fist had peeled off, exposing the bare machinery. The next punch naturally brought severe pain with it, shaking X out of his rage-driven stupor. The blue bomber finally managed to control his anger and teleported back to Hunter Base.

* * *

**Throne Room, Sigma Palace**

Sigma watched X's loss of control with interest. So even X's feelings could run rampant. As X's small outburst had shown, the results could be extremely dangerous, and that was when the blue bomber still had a measure of control. Still, Sigma had to try pushing the margin anyhow, and that was part of the reason he hadn't killed Vile yet. Speaking of Vile...Sigma summoned him to the throne room.

"I tried to find him but I lost him! That coward ran away!"

"I am not interested in a depiction of the fight, Vile. He escaped and it was beyond your control. That does not constitute a violation of orders. However, I have something to notify you of." Sigma brought up a projection of Armored Armadillo's mine and showed Vile his next location.

"What makes you think he'll go up there?"

"We've found an armor capsule buried in the ground similar to those that have been left in other locations of Dr. Light's accord. It is, however, of no use to us as an upgrade as it is compatable only with his body. However, we can use it as a trap."

"So you want me to stop him from getting that capsule. Must be important."

"Important enough that a force field will block his escape once he enters the cavern. You will fight him until you are critically damaged or you destroy him as before."

"Excellent. And this time, he can't escape." Vile mused with satisfaction.

"Do not fail me, Vile, and remember my ultimatum." Without replying, Vile stalked out of the throne room.

* * *

**Repair Bay, Sigma Palace**

Dr. Cain watched nervously as the repaired Reploid generals walked into the repair bay to have the Sigma Virus re-downloaded. He silently motioned to Doppler to carry out their prearrangements while Sigma possessed each of the generals in turn. As he did so, his programming replicated and attached to the AIs of each Reploid. However, the process was completely silent and motionless. Cain quickly scanned each of the six repaired generals and gave a sigh of relief once Sigma left the room followed by Chill Penguin, Flame Mammoth, and Launch Octopus. The safeguard was keeping the virus from adapting to their programming.

"Doctor?" Doppler had set up the equipment as soon as Sigma and the three other generals had left.

"We should begin. We know we can trust these three. We should make haste in case the safeguard does not last as long as we hoped."

"Very well," Doppler intoned as Storm Eagle, Boomer Kuwanger, and Sting Chameleon began to approach them.

The Sigma Virus, when isolated, could be purged by Cain's experimental antivirus program, albeit via a tedious and automated procedure. It was once it began to mutate and adapt that the program would have increasing difficulty completely purging the virus, to the point where it was virtually ineffective if the coding was completely assimilated.

Unfortunately Cain could only handle one Reploid at a time, but the three had settled their order by then: Storm Eagle nobly decided to go last despite the other's insistence that he go first, Boomer Kuwanger had rationalized that the virus would have a harder time breaching his emotionless programming and decided to go second, leaving Sting Chameleon uncomfortable but satisfied with the position of first.

Sting Chameleon was connected to the machine and the program began to work its magic.

* * *

**Hunter Base**

X hurried out of the teleporter array and to his quarters, fearing he would lose control again. He managed to seal himself inside his pod before he did. For the first time, X uttered a feral scream of hatred and anguish. He'd lost so much to the rebellion already and had managed to cope with that, but it was what was potentially lost that he couldn't leave behind. And now, with the death of Spark Mandrill after he had finally convinced a Reploid to stand down, those thoughts caught up to him again. No matter how hard he tried, his mental willpower hadn't improved with his body, and he lost himself in the sea of despair again.

After a while, X heard a gentle tapping on his pod. X turned away, but the sight of Zero's face had already sent him sprawling back into the sea he had just escaped, for Zero, to his fevered mind, was another reminder of what remained to be lost. This time it was more than the potential loss that enveloped him. The sheer despair and anger he'd felt since Spark Mandrill's death were opening old wounds again. X saw once again Storm Eagle yank his hand from his grasp, the terror in Sting Chameleon's eyes fade to the emotionless emblem of Sigma as the virus took over, Chill Penguin's desperate request to kill him, and, most hauntingly, Teal and other human hostages being led away before his eyes as Sigma held Zero in a chokehold with one hand and his saber in the other hand, held mere millimeters from X's throat.

Spread out over the course of almost two weeks, the events had been painful enough. Now, within the span of minutes, it was too much. X screamed again and began to cry. Seeing this, Zero tapped more urgently on X's pod before trying to pry it open himself. With the help of a technician he was able to, but X immediately sprang from the pod and began firing his buster wildly.

"NO! LEAVE ME ALONE! I'M PUTTING YOU ALL IN DANGER! I WILL USE FORCE IF I HAVE TO!" X was screaming hysterically as he fired around the room, aiming for nothing in particular.

"X! Listen to me!" Zero pleaded, but it was no use. X's attention was drawn to Zero at the shout, and he screamed again as he fired a Spiral Crush. Stunned, Zero did not dodge as the massive shot hit his body, dismembering him and scorching his armor plating. "...Get...security teams...in here...Put...him...down..." Zero managed to say before he shut down. Within minutes, two teams of guards had subdued X with an EMP round and dragged him into the repair bay, where they secured him but allowed the technicians to repair X's damage. However, it would be some time before they got to X, as they had to fix Zero first.

* * *

**Author's Note: So with that, X has finally broken completely. He's come close before, but now he's over the edge. Will he be able to pull himself back up? Or will the three rogue generals have to do his work for him?**


	11. Sword and Shield

**Author's Note: So obviously X is going to have to come back from this somehow. I hope I made it believable.**

**Vile has obtained his final loadout! He has Distance Needler, Popcorn Demon, Infinity Gig, Fatboy, Necro Burst , Splash Hit, Stubborn Crawler, and Sea Dragon's Rage. Let's just pretend Armored Armadillo is a prick and didn't give him anything.**

* * *

The EMP round had shaken X out of his grief, and though his tears continued as the security forces locked him down, they were now of regret. He'd failed to control his emotions, and now his friend was paying possibly the ultimate price. X eventually managed to fall asleep, after hearing one of the techs announce Zero would be okay.

When his subconcious self awoke, he found himself facing Dr. Light.

"Doctor, take these emotions from me!" X begged and his eyes welled with tears. "I...I'm not ready for them..."

_"X, your emotions can serve you well. But beware that they can also be made to serve evil's interests. I gave you this power because it can push your capabilities far beyond what any other robot could hope to reach. But it is up to _you_ to control them. If I were to do so for you, I would be enslaving you."_

X blinked and looked at the hazy blue image of his father. "But...how...?"

_"There is no set way to do so, X. If I were to show you how I did so, for instance, I would be forcing you to do things by a way other than your own, defeating the purpose of your independent thinking. However, know this: For everything lost, there will always be something for which that sacrifice was worthwhile."_

"So..." X realized in a roundabout way his father _was_ telling him.

_"I cannot tell you any more, X. You have interpreted my words as you chose to. Now go, my son. You have already made me proud, but you cannot leave your job half-finished. Goodbye..."_

* * *

X suddenly awoke and remembered he was restrained. He looked over and saw that Zero had been repaired and had already left. He must have been out for...his clock was showing...a day?! He also noticed that the Hunters hadn't bothered repairing his battle damage.

"So..." X spun his head and saw Zero, flanked by two human Reploids wielding EM stun guns. His friend's customary smile and positive demeanor was replaced by a fixed line and an unreadable face. "Are you ready to explain yourself, X?" The tone told X everything he needed to know: one misstep and he would either be joining Sigma or shot.

X looked away guiltily. Though he had snapped and managed to regain control of himself, his acts were constituted as Maverick. Nobody would bother understanding, besides Sigma and maybe Zero. "I...I'm not sure what happened. So many things have been happening..."

"X, I understand you're under a lot of stress from this crisis, but we all are. That's not an excuse for acting Maverick. If you hadn't helped us out as much as you had with this, you'd be dead already."

"Zero...you don't understand how I feel. Watching my friends die, or worse, killing them, doing what I always abhored nonstop for four days..."

"Your breaking point is clear, X. That's not what I wanted to know. I already can guess why you snapped, but why did you shoot me? Why did you destroy things?"

"I...didn't want to be reminded of those things...that I hadn't lost yet. I tried to distance myself so that when I did, it wouldn't hurt as much..."

Zero sighed. The explanation was hardly what he wanted to hear, but most likely the truth. So this was what X's emotions were capable of doing...no wonder Dr. Light had tried to safeguard against it. "We need to talk more about this later, but I am convinced you are not a Maverick. Stand down."

With that, the Hunter guards left and Zero approached X to unshackle him. "Zero...I'm sorry. Are you okay now?"

"Don't worry about me, X. I assume there was a reason you were out for almost a day?"

"Yeah...some 'rock bottom' safeguard Dr. Light built into me. Guess this must have happened to him or someone he knew..."

"Your old man's either a prophet or an eerily good predictor of history. Take it easy; I'll get the techs back in here to repair your damage. In the meantime, I'm going to take on Armored Armadillo."

"Zero! I thought you said it was too dangerous!"

"He's forced my hand. His forces are digging under the city; if we don't attack his base within an hour he'll collapse the tunnels he's digging and bring the city down."

"Damn that groundhog..." X muttered ruefully. Before he had left the Hunters Armadillo had irritated X frequently about the latter's "inferior" combat abilities, in addition to challenging random Hunters to fights and boasting of his own powers. X's hatred of Armadillo had come to fruition when the latter had dared a new C/D-ranked Hunter to shoot him with his weapon before using his hyperreactive armor to charge up an attack and destroy him, especially when he heard Sigma had accepted Armadillo's justification that said Hunter was a 'waste of circuitry'. His antics were nothing short of bullying and sometimes constituted Maverick behavior, but because of Armadillo's high standing and his unique role within the Hunters, Sigma didn't take action beyond verbal reprimands.

"Well there's nothing we can do past responding to the challenge. And Sigma's minions outside of Armadillo's army have largely withdrawn to the palace, and those that haven't are in the process of doing so. The risk wouldn't be any greater than if you invaded the mine yourself."

"Alright, well...take care, Zero. I'll join you when I can. And...thanks." Zero raised his hand in acknowledgement but didn't turn to face his friend as he left the repair bay. X kept looking at the spot where he had last seen his friend while the repair technicians got to work.

* * *

**Sigma Tunnel Network, Abel City**

Armored Armadillo smiled as he registered teleporter signatures. Good. He had the Hunters' attention. Oddly, he didn't spot X among the group. Though Sigma had ordered him to issue the ultimatum, Armadillo had privately been hoping only X would respond as was the case with the others. Nevertheless, he was confident that most of the Hunters that arrived would be easily dispatched by his army.

Unfortunately, Zero was leading them, and the red robot was doing everything to protect his troops. Armadillo would have to change that. "Vile!" The purple Reploid nodded to acknowledge that he'd heard. "Go and separate Zero from his group. Preferrably, throw him into one of the minecarts."

"I don't need to listen to you! If it was X leading them it'd be a different story, but I'm not taking on Zero!"

"You sound scared, Vile," Armored Armadillo taunted. It was a dangerous move, but it usually brought his obedience.

"Hmph!" Vile stalked off. There was a crash and Vile burst into Armored Armadillo's command center in his Ride Armor, seizing the latter with his fist. "Listen, you fucking mole, I'll do what _I_ want, _my_ way! I'm tired of you giving me orders!" Vile threw Armadillo against the wall.

"Sigma will hear about this, Vile! I will make you rue this decision!"

"Why do you care, so long as you get what you want in the process?" The Ride Armor thudded off.

Armored Armadillo sighed. He went back to monitoring the battle. The tunnel network consisted of a series of tunnels dug by both Sigma's forces and the people of Abel City. Several unfinished subway tunnels and sewers made up the majority of the portion under Abel City, with the network eventually leading out of the city and into an old mine in whose entrance Armadillo had established his command center. Right now, the Hunters were still pinned down near their entrance point by his forces, but it was clear he was losing as a result of Zero's efforts.

That would change soon enough.

* * *

Zero saw Vile's Ride Armor approaching and signalled for the Hunters to scatter. They would have to take it down together; even Zero couldn't hope to last long in such confined spaces. Especially if Vile had learned his lesson from before.

The Ride Armor closed the distance frighteningly fast, and one of the Hunters was trampled beneath the massive feet before anyone could react. Zero tried to distract Vile, but it was clear that the latter wasn't interested in him. The Ride Armor's cockpit shielding deflected Zero's attacks, and his saber attacks were always met with a devastating counter-rush. After it happened twice, Zero backed down to avoid damage, and he could only watch as his troops ran or were slaughtered. About half of them managed to reach the exit beacon; the others' remains were strewn across the tunnel.

"I'd love to destroy you too with this new Ride Armor, Zero, but I'm afraid that privelage is reserved for X..." As Zero slowly began to back away from Vile at hearing this, Vile continued, "...I won't kill you, but I didn't say anything about this!" Vile seized Zero and threw him down the tunnel and walked down another tunnel that would eventually merge with it. "_Bon voyage_, you transgender red cocksucker!"

_"I'm surprised Sigma hasn't put a censor on this guy yet,"_ Zero grumbled as he twisted and turned his body in midair to minimize the shock and damage of any impacts. He was airborne for almost a half a minute before he slammed into the back of a tunnel-boring machine, but he managed to recover quickly. However, the mission had already gone horribly wrong and they hadn't even made any ground. At this point, Zero realized he had flown out of one of three tunnels, and with no idea which one he had come out of, he blindly guessed. Finding a minecart, Zero examined it, puzzled.

Then he realized he was meant to ride it. That was an absurd notion, but it would likely get him past the majority of the defenders. "Here goes nothing," he muttered and climbed on. To his surprise, the cart began rolling immediately, and spikes protruded from both ends as the cart picked up speed. Soon the track ahead began sloping down, and the Bat Bones were quickly left behind while the Flammingles were simply run over or impaled, their fragments showering Zero. Despite the proximity of danger, he found himself enjoying the ride. A screech different from the Bat Bones suddenly caught his attention, and he looked up and saw a Bubble Bat peering at him from a hole in the wall for a brief second. Zero smiled at seeing another Wily creation, even if it wasn't on his side.

Ahead, he saw the track ended and Zero used his momentum to dash off the cart as it crushed itself against a wall. Slicing down with his Z-saber, he cut a pair of Bat Bones and another Flamminger down. As he dropped down a shaft, a sudden rumble started up behind him and Mole Borer burst through the wall. Zero cursed and began fleeing down the hallway, but the mech was just as fast.

Zero saw spikes and several Bat Bones further down the hallway. He was going to land on spikes either way **(A/N: No invincibility frames here!)**, and there wasn't time to destroy the bats...

* * *

X hurried to the teleporter array as the comm net erupted with frantic cries for evac and damaged Hunters were being rushed out of the teleporter room. He teleported into the same tunnel Zero had last broadcast a signal from, and was immediately confronted by the Bat Bones that Zero had outrun. X easily shot them down with his buster. Suddenly, a different screech echoed through the dim tunnel and the Bubble Bat that Zero had seen swooped out of its cave upon recognizing X as a Dr. Light creation. The bat dove straight for him, and X shot it down without hesitating. As X examined the wreckage, he noticed "M501" stamped on the interior of the drone. He also found a repair kit inside the corpse. Odd. X took the repair kit and moved on. Suddenly, as he began crossing a series of spiked pits (and noting the minecart's wreckage in the bottom of the first), the earth shook and X heard the rumbling engine of a Mole Borer. Zero must have triggered it! X hastened to the shaft and dropped down.

His scanners immediately picked up Armored Armadillo's subtank behind him, but Zero was slowly losing ground to to the massive tunneling machine. X made a snap decision and fired a Boomerang Cutter to pick up the subtank while dashing after the Mole Borer.

X dropped a fireball out of his buster and the charged Fire Wave expanded into a sheer wall of heat and flames, roaring after the Mole Borer. As the flames consumed the machine, its diesel tank exploded and the machine shut down. X ran through the fire as soon as it was tolerable and saw Zero panting on the other side.

"Are you okay?"

"Hey...X. Glad to see you up and fighting again. I'm fine, that Mole Borer just caught me off guard."

"Not like you to be that way," X teased. Zero's lack of response quickly sobered X's mood. "Well...I suppose we should keep moving. What happened to the Bat Bones?"

"Destroyed. Let's move on."

X nodded, grateful for Zero's acceptance of his change of tack. X charged a Chameleon Sting and carried Zero as best as he could over the spikes, and they soon came upon broken minecart tracks.

"Looks like we're both going to have to fight this one out. I'll take point." X said.

"...Alright..." Zero was reluctant, but at the same time he understood that X needed to prove himself again.

They traveresed the tunnel, blasting Spikies, Bat Bones, and Mets out of the way and making some small talk. Vile was waiting for them just before the end.

"You have X as your tag team partner now, Zero? The Hunters must be getting desperate..."

"What we're doing is none of your business anymore, Vile. Now stand down or I will destroy you."

"Hah! You could barely beat me the last time we _properly_ met, and I have grown much stronger since then! You think X is the only one with potential?"

"Zero," X spoke up. "I'll take him. I have more experience fighting him."

"You, X? All you did was hide under that cloak Sting Chameleon gave you like a pussy! You're even worse than Zero!"

X ignored him and continued, "Anyhow, you have a better chance at stopping Armored Armadillo."

"X, I couldn't even stop a Mole Borer on my own. You're the one who has a better chance. We both know his weakness."

"Hey, don't ignore me, you two! I'll just fight you both!"

At that, the two spoke unanimously: "Then that shall be the end of you, Vile!" Zero added, "Your arrogance will be your downfall!"

"Haha! Bring it on!" Vile's body bristled with weapons.

X was caught in a Splash Hit vortex, and Zero weaved and sliced through a barrage of Popcorn Demon missiles. But even Vile had his limits. With so much energy devoted to keeping Zero busy he had nothing to use against X, and the blue bomber managed to break free of the vortex without further harm, unleashing a charged Homing Torpedo. Five drones emerged from X's buster and augered straight into Vile. They weren't able to penetrate his armor and exploded instead, knocking Vile off his feet. Swearing, the purple Reploid unleashed a Necro Burst. Zero was thrown back in mid-charge, and X's next attack was vaporized by the energy field. Both were pummeled mercilessly by the field, and Vile gave his paralyzed opponents no respite, attacking X with a rocket fist and Zero with a Fatboy.

"Zero!" X watched in horror as his friend disappeared behind a rise in the minecart tracks, energy coursing through his body. Fortunately the Necro Burst had expired and X fired off a Spiral Crush, vaporizing the rocket fist much to Vile's surprise. Though he managed to avoid some of it and remainder of the shots hadn't penetrated, it gave X enough time to recover.

"What are you going to do without your babysitter, X?" Vile mocked. X fired a Boomerang Cutter, which slashed through Vile's cannon. X caught it as he dashed towards his surprised foe. Before Vile could react X tackled him and began to viciously slice the former apart with the weapon.

"You've taken everyone I care about from me! You forced Storm Eagle to fight me, you kidnapped Dr. Cain, and now you've killed Zero! _But you won't take me!_" With that, X stabbed one end of the cutter straight into Vile's helmet. The red glow behind his signature T-visor faded, and X ran to where he'd seen Zero disappear.

To X's surprise and immense relief, Zero was okay. "I've got some major damage, but I'll live. The shrapnel in those missiles conduct energy..."

"Zero, I'll go on myself. Get yourself repaired."

"Thanks, X...I owe you one."

"If it means I don't look like a Maverick to everyone, then that's enough." Zero laughed and teleported out. X returned to Vile's disabled corpse and considered kicking it into a spike pit before realizing what he was doing.

_"I'm supposed to be protecting both Reploids and humans...how quickly things changed in the last week. I can't let those things get the better of me again..."_

Though he didn't kick Vile into energy spikes like he originally planned, X didn't do anything else. He dropped down and his scanners suddenly revealed a Heart Tank further ahead. He almost didn't notice the Mole Borer right in front of him, but luckily he didn't trigger it and a blast of flames to the diesel tank solved that problem quickly. X picked up the Heart Tank and noticed another minecart. Now it was his turn...he couldn't suppress a smile of anticipation.

* * *

Armored Armadillo cursed and opened a transmission to Sigma to recover Vile. With the purple Reploid potentially dead there wasn't really a need to report to Sigma what had happened earlier, Armadillo mused. He was a warrior at heart, and he lived by that code at all times. Besides, the eight armies were nothing but a forwarding of and cloak for Sigma's next plan. If they had begun an attack, so be it, but their plans hadn't been irreparably disrupted...

A minecart crashed into the command center's door, battering it half-open. Maybe he should have listened to Boomer Kuwanger about those after all. X pried open the smashed doors and walked in.

"I should have figured who would abhor base defenses enough to provide me with those. Hello, Armored Armadillo."

"Speaking of armor, been rummaging through Hunter Base's recycler recently?"

"Save it. We both know why I'm here."

"Yes, you're here to convince me not to fight for Sigma, no? We both know the answer to that already, X. I'm under strict orders to protect this mine. There is nothing Maverick about obedience."

"Spoken like a true Maverick! If you follow the orders of one then you're a Maverick by extension!"

"It is not my position to question Sigma's actions or orders! I am a _warrior_, X!"

"You are a Reploid! We were given the ability to think and make decisions for ourselves!"

"And my decision was to obey the orders of others! My kind are not supposed to think outside of battle! It is my calling to fight and only to fight, X!"

"Other Hunters would already have fought you! I'm giving you a chance to spare your life against every protocol, and you refuse it!"

_"I follow orders, and nothing more! _Hear me, X! That is your great weakness! You do not know when fighting is necessary!"

"You don't know when it isn't!"

"Enough! I am under orders to stop you, and while conversation _is_ fulfilling that purpose for now, there's only one true way to dispose of you!" Armadillo tucked into a ball and shot across the room, bouncing off the walls with enough force to make boulders fall from the ceiling. X shot them down, but one stray buster shot struck Armadillo's hyperreactive armor, and the Reploid began to glow. Four massive energy shots shot out of hidden ports in the armor. X dodged them all, but Armadillo himself struck the blue bomber from behind before unfolding from his ball form. Lasers spewed from a hidden cannon in his forehead, but he couldn't fire them quickly without absorbing energy.

X dodged them and fired off a charged Electric Spark. The pulse smashed into Armored Armadillo, and with a blinding flash, the electromagnets on his armor shorted out and the plates fell off. Armadillo's eyes widened through the arcing electric fields. "Impossible!"

"Believe it! I'm not the same robot you always picked on when you were a Hunter!" X gathered energy between his hands and threw it as an energy ball. The Hadouken tore through Armored Armadillo's now-vulnerable body, and with a spectacular scattering of metal fragments, his body exploded. X walked over to one of the fallen armor pieces and began to copy it, but Armored Armadillo suddenly managed to stand, wielding a pair of katanas usually hidden under his back armor plate.

"Augh!" X yelled and grabbed his arm as his buster was sliced off.

"You're defenseless now! You're stronger than you were before, but you're still inferior to me!"

X immediately changed his other hand to a buster. "I'm right-handed, but I don't think I'll mind this time!" His buster suddenly spun a cocoon of energy and hurled it at Armored Armadillo. The musical tone of the projectile as it was spun and fired was almost mocking; the Reploid was destroyed by his own copied Rolling Shield.

* * *

**Sigma Palace**

Sigma smiled as he watched Armored Armadillo's death. That stubborn prick had followed his orders to the last, even though they weren't necessary for more than a day. Sigma turned and nodded to a technician. The rock surrounding the palace suddenly crumbled and a massive portion of the plateau broke off like an iceberg calving off a glacier.

Sigma watched Abel City recede as the now-flying fortress ascended. He wondered what its inhabitants were thinking. The fortress possessed formidable defensive arrays and shielding but lacked firepower with the range to bombard Abel City, and thus flight was more for intimidation and evading the Hunters. Sigma suddenly cursed inwardly as he remembered the Maverick Militia commander had a tracking beacon in case reinforcements needed to be mass-deployed or a mass evacuation was necessary. He'd have to deal with that.

"All generals, report to the command center!"

Minus Armored Armadillo, they responded within minutes.

"I have a task for you. You are to assassinate the leader of the Maverick Militia. Kill all of his troops too, and act quickly. The Hunters will be mounting an assault soon, and we can't afford to let them access the teleporter beacon. Storm Eagle, you have command."

The avian Reploid bowed and lead his comrades to a waiting transport. Another departed simultaneously to evacuate the remainder of Armored Armadillo's army and pick up the shattered remains of both the Reploid and Vile.

Speaking of Vile...Sigma had to admit he had performed admirably and had far exceeded the potential that he thought he saw, even if he had obeyed Armored Armadillo's orders over Sigma's own. He needed to teach Armadillo his place once the latter was repaired; as nothing more than a warrior his command decisions were often rash and shortsighted but he knew how to play his troops to their maximum, and Vile's overzealous reaction was proof of that.

With regards to the purple Reploid himself, Sigma was slightly dismayed of Zero's presence as it had foiled his test slightly. It _had_ given additional insight into X's changes when governed by emotion, but Sigma hadn't needed that anymore. Rather, he wanted to pit the two against each other and see who would truly come out on top in a death battle. From the appearance of it Vile probably wasn't irreparably damaged though, and he could always stop X when the Hunters made it to his fortress. Sigma fully expected them to reach the teleporter beacon, for he knew that his generals were divided in their loyalties enough to undermine their efforts. That would be where the override would come into effect when he deemed it fit, but he already knew it didn't work completely...

* * *

**Hunter Base**

Zero was poring over a map of the Maverick Militia HQ with several squad leaders. This invasion would commit all of the Hunters' resources, including their all-too-valuable speeder bikes and Ride Armors. The extreme investment meant minimal casualties were an absolute requirement, and thus careful planning would be needed.

X walked in. "Hey, Zero."

"X! You did it! Sorry we can't have some time off right now, but take it easy for a bit."

"No, Zero. This is really important."

"What?"

"We need to succeed. I found some of the computers in Armored Armadillo's command center weren't purged..." X's voice cut off as a deep rumble shook the earth. Everyone stared out the window as a million-ton slab of rock capped with a fortress detached from the plateaus above Abel City and began to climb into the sky and retreat over the ocean.

"...so..." X managed to say once he had recovered. "That was supposed to happen. And we can't get a teleport signal lock without certain coordinates or a way to penetrate Sigma's defensive matricies. Fortunately, the computer in Armored Armadillo's command center indicated that our primary target has both, in addition to ways to bypass some defenses and a complete schematic of their defensive plan. There's also security cameras, but the computer doesn't provide an access code so we'll need to hack them to get a live feed."

"X...you're a lifesaver." Zero turned back to the map and X joined the commanders in conference.

* * *

**Author's Note: So can you tell I hate Armored Armadillo? Anyhow...**

**The next chapter will be another completely unique one; and a "boss rush" of sorts, though I plan on having something more along the lines of a boss rush i****n Sigma Palace.**


	12. When Plans Fall Apart

**Author's note: With every Maverick general down, it's time for another acanon chapter!**

* * *

**Maverick Militia HQ, Abel City**

"3...2...1...good luck guys!" X and Zero were instantly teleported from the array in Hunter Base to a ruined street in Abel City's once-bustling financial district, where the Maverick Militia had set up their last stand. They were operating alone, trying to infiltrate the defensive network ahead of the main Hunter invasion. The remaining forces would be flown in by helicopters and dropships once they had done their work.

The duo had been teleported behind an overturned truck that, unfortunately, happened to have a machine gun nest. Fortunately, the gunners weren't particularly alert and the dimming light brought on by dusk helped conceal them until it was too late.

"What the...!" the Mavericks' eyes widened as Zero cut them down with his saber. X began taking the machine gun apart while his friend looked around for any other enemies. Seeing none, X used a charged Chameleon Sting again and began to scout the defenses. The only space large enough to deploy the force the Hunters were fielding was in the remains of the mile-wide roundabout intersection. There had once been a business park there, but it had been struck by a missile when Sigma initially attacked and now the great convergence point of the city's asphalt arteries was nothing more than silent expanse.

That meant the militia had almost all their guns trained there. Though lacking in handheld armarments they had stolen a sizable force of self-propelled howitzers and gun tanks from the military at the cost of heavy casualties, and these vehicles had been dug into debris piles, turning said piles into makeshift artillery batteries. In addition the emplacements were protected by some of the most powerful energy shields in existence. But it would all be in vain.

X sighed at their foolishness as he continued to scout out the defensive perimeter of the roundabout. With all guns pointing in there wasn't anyone guarding the rear. Now he and Zero just had to get to the shield generators...

Suddenly, transports with Sigma's emblem began soaring overhead and delivering..."_Oh no._"

"You reading this?" Zero asked the watching Hunter commanders. "Things just got a lot harder..."

"Zero, they've brought detection equipment too..." X groaned. "So much for a stealth mission."

Right as X said it, a shuttle arrived soon after the last transport departed. X could only hope that their insider help would arrive soon or the Hunters were finished.

* * *

The Militia commander watched in satisfaction as the last of Sigma's arms transports delivered their cargo and withdrew. With over a hundred and fifty Ride Armors at his disposal and enough arms to equip his entire army, he could resume offensive operations. The defense network had been newly automated, and though it still required men to operate, the automation trimmed that number down severely, giving his forces a much larger fighting force.

And now, Sigma had sent seven of his generals to aid him. Things could only get better if he knew what the Hunters were up to. Zero was a crafty leader, and his defenses were too obvious for the Hunters to not have sent scouts to probe the area over the past few days. Another unsettling sign was that the military had stopped their airstrikes. Sure, he was making them pay severely for any attack attempt, but at about the same cost to his own army, and that fact wasn't lost on the top brass.

His thoughts were interrupted as Storm Eagle flew down from the shuttle. Odd. There was more than enough space to land it.

"Commander? Sigma would like to have a word with you before we begin." Storm Eagle opened a transmission.

"Hello, Sigma. Your donations were most generous. I believe we can have the military and Hunters routed by the end of the day."

"Do not be so confident, Commander." He had noticed that there were five generals around him now, and the sixth and seventh were making their way over. "Even now the Hunters are scouring your base, probing for weaknesses to exploit, and you are unaware."

"With your detection equipment that will be a problem of the past. Are the generals all you are sending here to help directly?"

"Careful now, Commander. _I_ lent you all of the arms and hardware you are using. You will show respect. That being said..." all seven generals moved threateningly at that. "...You've betrayed us both."

"I'm afraid I don't understand, Sigma."

"I believe you do, Commander. You let it slip that you have the key to accessing my fortress to Armored Armadillo, who foolishly allowed the Hunters to access the information. They will now stop at nothing to attain that teleporter beacon. You have become a parasite to our cause. And what do you do with a parasite?" The generals suddenly brandished their weapons. "You kill it. Goodbye, Commander."

The words had only registered before Boomer Kuwanger decapitated him with his cutter and the others fired their weapons into the headless corpse. Militia members around them were reacting with alarm and grabbing their weapons, but Sigma now spoke to them.

"Come now, there is no need to fight amongst ourselves. Your commander is a traitor to the Reploid race, but I now step forward with an offer of amnesty for all who are willing to listen. Come fight on my behalf, and I will see to it that your past is forgiven. If you don't, that is my equipment you are using. I will have it back by force if necessary." Of course, very few of them listened to Sigma and the army began a disorganized rush.

The Maverick leader sighed audibly before ordering to his generals: "Very well. Kill them all. Spare those who surrender if possible."

* * *

X and Zero were huddled down, trying to figure out a plan, when a massive fireball blossomed over the Militia HQ. The sounds of screaming and screeching metal were quickly heard, along with the unmistakable sound of Storm Eagle's metallic flapping, Flame Mammoth's trumpeting, Chill Penguin's mini-blizzards, and Launch Octopus's torpedo (or were they missiles after all?) batteries.

"Looks like Sigma's crashing his own party." Zero grinned.

"If we weren't surrounded by enough hostiles to reduce us to silicon dust I'd risk it to see what's going on."

"What's that the humans, say, 'you only live once'?"

X grumbled at Zero's reasoning but followed. They were greeted by an odd sight. Seven of Sigma's generals were fighting with the support of only seven or eight Reploids against a horde of militia members in tanks, Ride Armors, speeder bikes, and on foot. However, they seemed to be more than holding their own; they had established a barricade behind what X presumed was the wreckage of their transport and were unleashing devastating firepower into the Militia ranks. X watched as three homing drones from Launch Octopus arced over the makeshift barricade and sliced through a tank, leaving a burning wreck in their wake without a check in speed before they suicided into a Ride Armor.

"Should we help them?" Zero clearly wasn't interested in spectating the battle.

"Define 'them.' I know several of the generals are on our side secretly but if we tip our hand to Sigma too early..."

"Why not work with them all to crush the Militia?"

"Who are you and what have you done with Zero?" X joked. This was completely unlike his friend, but if that could work... "I'll sneak around and try to talk to Storm Eagle alone. He's probably in charge, so..."

"Alright buddy, just give me the signal once you're good or need saving." X facepalmed but thanked Zero genuinely for his offer.

* * *

Storm Eagle snagged a Reploid out of a Ride Armor and tossed him into one of Launch Octopus's rocket spreads. One of the few loyalist pilots left quickly scrambled into the machine and began wreaking havoc. As he landed behind a stack of crates, someone tapped him on the shoulder.

"What is it? We're not moving up yet..." he grumbled irritatedly without looking back. It was bad enough that Spark Mandrill was occasionally questioning his decisions; good thing Armored Armadillo wasn't here. Despite his "warrior" bravado he was arrogant and wanted to be in control to the point of extreme annoyance to true authority.

"Hey Storm Eagle..." X whispered from behind him. The avian Reploid whirled around and saw his friend's Chameleon Sting cloak expire at just that moment.

"X!" Every single Reploid turned to look at him, though those engaged in combat promptly returned to it. Unfortunately the latter category included Boomer Kuwanger and Sting Chameleon, but not Launch Octopus (who was still miffed at X over their pre-battle conversation) or Flame Mammoth.

"What's this, Storm Eagle?" Flame Mammoth grunted. "Don't tell me you're seriously considering siding with him!"

"I said nothing of that sort, Flame Mammoth. However our objectives are in line with those of the Hunters at the moment, and I would advise you not to take X lightly. In addition to already having beaten you before reaching full power he now possesses all of our weaknesses...for once we may be in need of his willingness to make allies."

"Very well...I shall busy myself elsewhere." With a harumph Flame Mammoth reluctantly lumbered back to the front line and began spewing a slick of oil to trap enemy Ride Armors.

Launch Octopus made a noise of dissent but also returned to his duties, launching volley after volley of rockets and homing drones into the ranks of oncoming Militia. Storm Eagle breathed a sigh of relief. That had gone _much_ smoother than he expected. "You were really pushing your luck, old friend."

"What's the point in life if you don't take risk?" X tried for a smile and failed, so he sighed and changed the subject. "Anyhow...I presume we won't be fighting alongside just you three?"

"For now. Sigma..." Storm Eagle looked around to make sure they weren't being eavesdropped on. "...Sigma wants us to prevent you from getting to the teleporter beacon. Us four generals are going to have to tip our hand now."

"Oh, great...wait, four?" X asked, confused.

"Spark Mandrill. Looks like you _are_ quite the orator, X. He approached me and Cain after he was rebuilt."

"Well...just monitor the standard Hunter frequency right now in addition to yours. We'll work it out, but we can't make a move now." Zero suddenly poked his head above them.

"Are you two done? The generals are starting to get upset and distracted now that they know I'm here, and we're all screwed if that keeps up..." Zero immediately ducked back out of sight and back to presumably combat.

"Well, I suppose we had better..." Storm Eagle took off and flew back into the fray, and X smiled as he armed his buster and emerged from cover, his armor gleaming gold and blue in the evening sunlight.

* * *

**Throne Room, Sigma Palace**

Sigma laughed as he watched X and Zero enter the fray alongside his generals. What a very interesting turn of events indeed. Storm Eagle knew they could handle the entire army themselves, but either the avian Reploid was a more intelligent commander than Sigma had gauged or this was a betrayal in the making.

Regardless, he had safeguards against the latter; X and Zero had made it far enough for him to see all he wanted from them. Now it would soon be time to put them both down.

Behind him, Vile made a noise of disgust at the scene unfolding on the throne room monitor. Velguarder growled at the sign of disrespect but made no other move, and when Sigma didn't stop him the purple Reploid stalked out. It was time for his ultimate test. Fuck them all; now it would be his turn to have Sigma's undivided attention. And he would get it by killing anyone at that scene who got in his way.

* * *

**Maverick Militia HQ, Abel City**

"Watch those Ride Armors advancing on the left!" X shouted into his helmet radio as the mechs slogged through the massive curtain of weapons fire issuing from their position.

"I've got it!" Spark Mandrill raised his drill and slammed it into the ground, creating a small, directed earthquake at the walkers. Raising his other arm, he charged as powerful a blast of electricity as he could muster and hurled the sphere at the lead Ride Armor. The pilots were busy trying to keep their machines steady in the midst of the tremor when they were struck by the electric blast. The enormous overload shut the Ride Armors down, disabling their cockpit shields. No sooner had they flickered off than Launch Octopus's homing drones tore through the exposed cockpits, shredding the Reploid riders to scrap.

X winced as he watched them fall, though he had to admit it was efficient. To his right Flame Mammoth was sweeping his flamethrower in a broad arc, using the jet of flame to flush out and trap any inflitrating enemies. Zero was watching carefully, ready to deal with any revealed foes. Last time they had nearly had a section of the barricade rigged with explosives before they discovered the sappers, and the red robot would take no chances this time.

Launch Octopus was humming to himself as he continued to rain down his deadly arsenal on the advancing Militia. Sting Chameleon suddenly decloaked in front of him and began adding his own attacks to the barrage before several shoulder-mounted homing rockets forced him to move. Launch Octopus chuckled and intercepted the missiles with his own. "Why run when you could stop them?" Sting Chameleon said nothing but gave a silent nod of thanks before resuming his carefully-aimed bursts of laser fire.

Above him, Storm Eagle threw down razor feathers, eggs of different types, and tornadoes into the rushing mass of Reploids, causing confusion in the mob wherever they struck. Seeing a self-propelled howitzer being brought into position, he dove in and dropped a "bomber" egg. The explosive capsule latched onto the vehicle's armor and instantly its smart charge adjusted to divert its force into the armor. A massive explosion rose from the vehicle as a searing jet of plasma and fire fried the crew and detonated the ammunition, and Storm Eagle soared out of weapon range before any of the Militia could get a shot off.

He continued to bombard the Militia lines until a SAM battery gunner loosed one of his missiles. The Rolling Airframe Missile was designed to down military fighters with a single shot, and despite its size it was incredibly agile. If it caught Storm Eagle there would be no doubt as to what would happen. Storm Eagle desperately tried to intercept it with his own weapons, but the missile simply bulled through his tornado and wove around his other attacks. Even X's Spiral Crush and Hadouken couldn't do much more than scorch the metal casing, though the same couldn't be said for the missile battery itself. By now the rocket was out of weapon range and gaining distance on the rapidly-ascending Storm Eagle. Realizing flight was futile, Storm Eagle suddenly dived, hoping to fake out the missile. The rocket's AI had to spend the remainder of its first stage to keep up, but it merely jettisoned the spent motor assembly and continued to chase him with the second.

"Someone get this thing off me!" Storm Eagle weaved between buildings, but the missile kept up and continued to close the distance. Launch Octopus's drones slammed into it and managed to knock the missile off course, but the computer remained undamaged and soon re-acquired its target. Chill Penguin and Boomer Kuwanger tried to knock the rocket down too, but their attacks were easily dodged.

X looked around frantically for Spark Mandrill. Only his attacks could short out the missile, but where had he gone? X's heart suddenly sank as he saw that Mandrill was in combat with a cluster of Ride Armors that had breached the barricade, aided by Flame Mammoth and Zero, who had ventured nearby in their search.

_"Wait! I copied his weapon..."_ X hated having to step up when so much was at stake for him. But there was nobody who could help his friend. Taking aim with Electric Spark, X fired off as many of the energy bolts as he could at the rocket.

And watched in disbelief and horror as the missile evaded his otherwise-flawless aiming and struck Storm Eagle. For a moment, time seemed to slow down, and all eyes on the battlefield turned as Storm Eagle's shattered body fell from the sky and behind several wrecked cars on X's side of the battlefield. Ignoring the battle, X ran to where he'd seen Storm Eagle fall. _"No! Please don't let him be dead again!"_

X scrambled over the wreckage and his heart sank. Storm Eagle lay lifeless, smoke pouring from a hole in his ruined body where the missile had shredded it. While it was a miracle he'd stayed largely intact after taking the hit, there was no way he could have survived it...

X uttered a wordless scream and ran to his friend's side. To his surprise and relief Storm Eagle was still functioning. "X...just see to it...that we prevail...I can return for repairs..." Flame Mammoth, who had just completed his sweep for cloaked enemies, hurried as best as he could over to Storm Eagle's side and managed to boost the latter's teleporter unit enough for Storm Eagle to return to Sigma Palace. X took a moment to regain his composure before returning to battle.

* * *

Zero breathed a sigh of relief that his friend had kept himself composed within rationality. They couldn't lose X now, as worthless as some of the generals saw him as...

A thudding heavier than the steps of the Militia Ride Armors suddenly reached his ears. Great. Vile was here, and given his nature he was probably just going to indiscriminately kill everyone. Zero's suspicions were confirmed seconds later when a Militia Ride Armor was impaled from behind by Vile's spiked fists and a howitzer was trampled. A speeder bike tried to get Vile's attention with its machine gun, only to be swatted aside. Countless foot soldiers either fled or were trampled and smashed by the unstoppable machine. The mech's path of destruction was unmistakably directed at the barricade; they would be next.

As much as he hated to do so, Zero had to give both the Ride Armor and its pilot credit as he watched Vile batter and trample everything in his path. The generals had already begun firing on the Ride Armor, but their attacks did almost nothing against its heavy plating. Not even X's Hadouken could do much more than stall the machine.

Vile dashed for the closest general once he was within several hundred yards of the barricade. The dash punch smashed through the ruins of the shuttle, and Boomer Kuwanger barely managed to teleport out of the way. His energy cutters disappated harmlessly against the Ride Armor, and his head-mounted boomerang clanged off the mech without leaving so much as a paint scratch.

"Someone take him down while I distract him! I don't have the firepower to deal with this thing!" Kuwanger rapidly teleported around Vile, trying to distract him, but it was only a matter of time before he got hit.

"Wait, why are we fighting Vile?" Spark Mandrill asked as he continued to short out Militia Ride Armors, not bothering to divert his attention yet.

"Something tells me killing us isn't something Sigma would do right now, and besides, he's stopping us from completing our mission; kill him!" No sooner had the words left Kuwanger's mouth than the Ride Armor sandwiched him between its spiked fists. Kuwanger didn't even process the bitter overload before he succumbed to his damage.

"Hahaha! And now it's time for the rest of you! Why don't we start with the ladies?" Vile immediately charged at Zero, who blasted the Ride Armor's arm with a charge shot and sliced through the weakened armor with his saber. Vile looked mildly surprised at losing one of his Ride Armor's arms, but the other fist struck Zero in the face and threw him into the fifth story of a nearby building, the ceiling of which promptly collapsed on him. Vile looked around for X, but the coward had disappeared under his cloak again.

Wasting no more time at seeing Zero's possible death, Spark Mandrill sent an electric pulse along the ground into the Ride Armor before following up with a dash, brandishing his drill. With the Ride Armor immobilized Vile had no choice but to jump out as Spark Mandrill plowed through the mech, his drill boring into the machinery through the hole that had once been an arm socket.

Though the Ride Armor was destroyed Vile was far from done. Spark Mandrill was encased in a massive iceball as Vile's Sea Dragon's Rage enveloped him. Six Metal Crescents soon had Sting Chameleon impaled against a wall, Flame Mammoth without a trunk, and Launch Octopus without tentacles, while a Fatboy shot had blown Chill Penguin's nitrogen tank apart, killing him again. Flame Mammoth bellowed in rage and charged Vile, but he sidestepped the towering Reploid easily and Flame Mammoth was unable to stop before trampling the near-immobile Launch Octopus. Flame Mammoth's charge came to a stop in a wall, which collapsed on top of him.

"Tsk, tsk, Vile, I used to have nothing but respect for you," Sting Chameleon mocked through his pain.

"You...plan to betray...Sigma, don't you...?" Launch Octopus groaned before Vile could reply.

"I'll tell you what I've told you before, you pitiful fool: I don't like working for others. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a score to settle with X."

* * *

X shook Zero's battered body, hoping for a response. Suddenly he noticed the sounds of fighting from below had stopped. Sigma's generals must have been disabled.

"Zero...come on buddy, don't die on me!"

The wall of debris hiding X was blown away, and Vile laughed mockingly as he saw X holding Zero. He never stopped in his stride and rammed his boot into X's helmet, stunning the latter enough to wrestle Zero's unconcious form into a chokehold with his autocannon aimed straight for his head.

X's vision refocused after a few seconds, but the sight was anything but welcome. This was not a sense of _deja vu_ he wanted to relive.

"What's the matter, X? Haven't got the balls to shoot your boyfriend?"

X raised his buster, determined not to hesitate, but he felt his resolution dissolving when he saw Zero reawaken with a groan. To his credit, the red robot quickly realized the situation he was in despite his heavy damage.

"X...shoot him..."

"Dream on, Zero!" Vile sneered and pressed his autocannon barrel deeper into his chin. "X needs to grow a pair before he does that, and I don't intend to give him the chance! You have five seconds before you're both dead, X!" Vile cocked his cannon and it began to charge another Fatboy.

Suddenly Zero grabbed Vile's cannon with all of his waning strength and directed the shot down into the floor. The energy shot easily penetrated through the floors of the building, and the structure lurched dangerously. Vile temporarily lost his footing and let go of Zero, who immediately grabbed his leg for dear life.

"X! Shoot! Now!"

The X buster glowed green, then orange and then red, as Vile fought to unsuccessfully shake off Zero while trying to avoid falling debris. "Let go of me!"

Vile suddenly saw the buster's charge color change again to blue. He'd only X's supercharged shot used once, and it had knocked down and almost killed an otherwise-invulnerable mechanaloid...and that was before X had gotten his buster upgrade.

"Not a charged shot! Get _off!_" Vile tried one last time and managed to rip his leg free of Zero's grasp, kicking the red robot viciously as he did so. That was a fatal mistake. With a yell, X discharged every single joule of energy his reactor could muster in a shot bigger than its target. Vile only had time to scream as his armor disintigrated and his body was torn apart by the sheer force of the blast.

X sank to his hands and knees before falling to the floor, barely able to remain concious as his reactor tried to stabilize itself. Next to the hole Vile had blasted in the wall lay Zero's crumpled form.

"Z...Zero..." X managed to ask as his body slowly recovered. "Are...you okay...?" There was no answer. "Zero?" Suddenly, X's tiredness meant nothing to him and he scrambled over to his friend as best as his severely weakened systems would allow. "Zero! _Zero! ZERO!_"

"X, don't despair yet. There's still a chance he can be repaired." rasped a voice from the entrance. X whirled around and raised his buster, scrambling back when he realized it was Spark Mandrill. The general raised his hands. "I bear you no ill intention as of now. Let's get Zero out of here. Keep it quiet; anyone else who would sympathize with me is dead." Spark Mandrill gestured and X saw that the Hunters were arriving in force.

"Why...are you doing this...Spark Mandrill?"

"You genuinely convinced me that there is still a better way, X, and you and Dr. Cain freed me from the Sigma Virus. And since it no longer controls me, I thought I should repay you in kind." The Reploid leaped to a giant rubble heap nearby, carrying Zero's body. X followed, albiet more slowly.

At that moment several Bee Blader helicopters of Sigma's army stormed the area and began evacuating his forces. "I must go now, X." X nodded and silently thanked Spark Mandrill before reaching the location where the latter had set Zero's body down. The helicopters had special electromagnets to attract the remains of the disabled generals, and once they had them and Spark Mandrill they quickly withdrew though X had ordered the Hunters to stand down.

"What happened sir?" One of the squad leaders ran up to him.

"Things...got complicated really fast, and fell apart even faster. Help me carry Zero." X sighed with relief as a dropship was called over and Zero lifted into it. His friend would be safe now.

* * *

**Author's Note: Kind of a lame way to leave off, but this chapter was way too long otherwise.**


	13. Blurred Lines

**Author's Note: Wow, over a thousand views in three weeks! Thanks guys!**

**Back to business...Unlike other chapters, this one is a direct continuation of the previous one. Sigma Stage 1's adaptation will get its own chapter.**

**Also, with my version of Teal being quite a bit different from the _Rockman X_ manga's, I decided to take that all the way and rewrite her character completely.**

* * *

**Militia Commander's Quarters, Abel City**

X looked out at the sun setting over the sea, knowing the flying Sigma Palace was somewhere out there. He had just scavenged for its teleporter beacon and access codes to breach the fortress's various barriers; there would be no stopping the Hunters from coming after him, especially after they had captured a large amount of equipment from the Militia. But after today, X wasn't sure he could do it. He pondered the events of the last few hours.

_"They might be doing wrong, but there's one thing Sigma's generals aren't: cowards. Almost all of them paid the ultimate sacrifice so I could live, and they all risked defying Sigma by siding with me...why...?"_

As X watched, the setting sun turned the sea various shades of vermillion and gold. He knew the same generals that he had fought the Militia and Vile alongside him today would be waiting for him as enemies once more tomorrow. They wouldn't change; Sigma would have ensured that with the virus. Despite Storm Eagle's assurances, X still wasn't the least bit assured of the effectiveness of Dr. Cain's antivirus; he had no physical proof that the virus couldn't take control even after the generals had sided with him; after all, Storm Eagle had informed him that was still acting in lieu with Sigma's orders. _"No,"_ X thought. _"I can't trust that the generals have been freed, or even if they changed their opinions."_

But, regardless, he had. Fighting alongside them had made X realize there was a lot more to them all than he had heard of them while they were all Hunters or when he'd fought them one-on-one. X found himself once again facing the question he had been stumped by for so long: When lives were at stake, human or Reploid, could he overcome his emotions?

* * *

**Repair Bay, Sigma Palace**

Sigma watched as Dr. Cain and the various repair droids scrambled to repair the eight generals. Vile had been repaired only to a state where he could function; it was high time that the purple Reploid learn that there might be irreparable consequences for his deeds.

"Sig...ma...I've fought X...almost a dozen times...but I still don't understand...why him...? What...what's so special...about him..." Vile laced the last word with what little detest he could manage.

"What exactly did you plan to do, _Vile_? Would you stand before me as a Maverick Hunter? Kneel at my feet and place yourself before my mercy?"

"What...did I plan to do...?" To the surprise of them both, Vile began to laugh weakly. "Thinking about it now...I'm not actually sure..."

Sigma dropped his calm demeanor and thrust his saber through Vile's half-built chest. "I am millimeters away from destroying your I.C. chip, Vile. _If you wish to live, listen carefully."_ Sigma jerked his saber slightly to the other direction to prove his point. _"You have **one last chance**, Vile. _When you are repaired, return to your guard post and _stay there_. Destroy anyone entering the fortress. I do not care by what means. You will be provided a new Ride Armor to help you do the job. If you think X isn't special, than show me _your_ potential. This is your last chance."

"Why..." Vile groaned. "Why did you resurrect me...?"

"I have my uses for you yet, Vile." With that, Sigma turned and called the repair droids. "Retrieve Vile. Restore him completely."

Dr. Cain gave a slight sigh of relief as Sigma walked out and turned his attention to repairing Storm Eagle. Thankfully, his job was relatively easy as the body had stayed intact and most of the damage was contained by the Reploid's armor. Nearby, Doppler was supervising and aiding several droids in the much more difficult task of repairing Boomer Kuwanger's shattered body.

Cain's mind was, however, elsewhere. Evidently, "simplified" damage synopsis he'd given to Sigma had convinced the latter that there was no need to re-download the Sigma Virus into his generals' programming again. On the other hand, with the Hunters in possession of a means to assault the fortress, it could simply have resulted from a lack of time; Sigma wasn't one to incidentally forget matters, regardless of their triviality.

The approaching Hunters also meant that Cain's own precarious position was becoming increasingly more apparent. Having restored Sigma's generals and various other members of his army multiple times in some cases, it would be very difficult for the humans to view him as anything other than a collaborator given their previous opinions. Storm Eagle and those without the Sigma Virus might vouch for him, but what would their word be against the humans' when they had fought under Sigma's insignia? And Cain wasn't even sure if X would: unlike every other Reploid he didn't share the view of Cain as his father/creator, and their relationship had only grown colder in the weeks leading up to Sigma's revolt.

"Storm Eagle!" Cain smiled as he watched Teal run into the repair bay. If there was any proof that humans and Reploids could peacefully coexist, it was these two. Cain's satisfaction at vindication of his belief, however, did not last as Teal gasped at the damage.

"Not to worry, my dear, it looks worse than it is. Your...friend..." Despite his beliefs, Cain still felt "boyfriend" wasn't quite an appropriate term. He cleared his throat and continued. "...Storm Eagle's armor took most of the damage. You should consider him extremely lucky; almost every other victim of these rockets, human or Reploid, was killed."

Cain's response calmed Teal slightly, but her hands were still shaking as she grasped Storm Eagle's hand in both of her own while Cain resumed his work.

* * *

**Titanium Park, Abel City, 1 year ago**

Five speeder bikes and an armored car with Maverick Hunter markings pulled up next to a line of almost twenty police cars on the avenue on the east side of the park. Immediately, a police sergeant walked over to deliver a status update, snapping to a salute as the lead Hunter dismounted.

"Well, sergeant? Be quick about it; those Mavericks won't put themselves down."

"Commander Sigma, so far my boys haven't been able to put any of these pyrotechnics down. Their Tazer cables are melting in the heat, and those bastards are smart; they got six of my men when we tried flanking them."

"And is the park evacuated?"

"Yes, the area closest to them is evacuated, but not without civilian casualties."

"A necessary cost, I'm afraid. You and your men have done your part; the Hunters will handle those Mavericks from here."

By now, the other eleven Hunters had also dismounted and were waiting for orders. Their ranks consisted of Zero, Storm Eagle, Boomer Kuwanger, Armored Armadillo, X, and six members of Sigma, Zero, and Storm Eagle's support companies. Sigma ordered his and Storm Eagle's squad to help evacaute any remaining police and civilians. The other seven ventured down a trail after him.

It wasn't long before an unnatural red glow began to show in front of them. As the eight Hunters drew nearer, they could hear crazed screams and laughter from a clearing ahead. Sigma ordered them to halt a few seconds later, and they could make out about twelve Mavericks, along with numerous mechanaloids, attempting to burn down the forest. Ribbons of flame wrapped around the artificial trees, but their synthetic nature made them extremely difficult to burn and thus they hadn't progressed much beyond burning smaller foliage.

"You know the plan, gentlemen. It may be unnecessarily risky, but if we can capture a Maverick alive and unsubdued we can be that much closer to terminating this scourge once and for all." Without further exchange, Armored Armadillo lead the remaining axuiliary Hunters away to a cluster of especially tall trees, which the two promptly began to climb, assembling their sniper rifles once they reached their perches and leaving the grumbling Armadillo below. Zero went his own way, as did Storm Eagle. Boomer Kuwanger and X took the side of the clearing opposite the snipers.

"Kuwanger," X whispered. "Can you double check for humans around here? I can't pick up any, but you've got the better sensors."

His partner complied without replying. Though they had started as a team only weeks earlier they had been deployed together many times already and they both knew that protecting humans was top priority.

"No signs of any...shit! There's a few hiding in some foliage about twenty yards ahead of the flames."

X relayed the information to Sigma, and Zero and Armored Armadillo responded that they were heading towards their location. Meanwhile the blue bomber tried to figure out a quick way to them as well.

"Can you teleport other Reploids, Kuwanger?"

"Not across such small distances. You know how those blasted long-range teleporters can't function at such ranges."

X cursed. "Then we'll just have to be quick about getting there..." Just then, one of the Mavericks spotted Zero's red armor through the foliage, only a few yards from the humans.

"Out in front!" he screamed and unleashed his flamethrower. The other Mavericks, as well as the various other mechanaloids aiding them, were drawn by the cry and also unleashed waves of fire in Zero's direction. The red robot dodged, but he was now cut off from the civilians, who despite his frantic calls to move, had remained paralyzed by fear.

Sigma cursed as screams issued from the other side of the clearing. "Civilian casualties confirmed! Scramble medical teams!" Emergency responders monitoring the frequency acknowledged, but Sigma was already issuing orders to his men.

"Forget Cain's request! Neutralize them by all means necessary before any more civilians are harmed!"

The Hunters burst into the open. Despite their superior numbers, the Mavericks were temporarily caught by surprise, and in that moment the Hunters brought down eight of them. The remaining four retreated out of the snipers' line of fire and began to fight back, driving Sigma and Zero back with fire blasts while throwing crude firebombs and fireballs to keep Kuwanger and X away. X stumbled as he dodged a jet of fire and landed in front of the Mavericks. Sigma tried to find an opening through the flames to help, but there was no need; an egg suddenly landed among the Mavericks and exploded. Three of the pyrotechnic Mavericks were soon engulfed in their own fire fuel and screamed as they were melted to slag.

Demonstrating some reason, the last Maverick surrendered, but the Hunters had already moved on to neutralizing the horde of mechanaloids. Meanwhile, human police and medical teams were moving into the area, where the civilians had been burned to various degrees but were all alive. Fortunately, the mechanaloids mostly surrenedered or self-destructed when they saw their Reploid overlords had been subdued.

Storm Eagle landed next to X. "That's three you owe me now, X..." his voice trailed off as he caught sight of one of the EMTs. She had hair as black as a raven's wing, and a lithe body that almost craved attention...Storm Eagle shook his head to clear his thoughts of the new emotions he was experiencing. "Who is she?"

X chuckled as he saw his friend's reaction. "I presume you mean her? That's Teal. I met her a couple times already. Not on any desirable circumstances, though."

"Fortune favors the bold, X. An elementary lesson of life." With that, Storm Eagle sauntered off to introduce himself. X smiled as he watched her casually rebuff his advances before reluctantly opening up to him. Storm Eagle hadn't ever tried to ask someone out, not even for the Christmas dance the Hunters usually hosted for the city. That said a lot, as even Sigma had succumbed to pressure on that one. That made this entire scene all the more impressive; the fact that he could hold his first girl's attention like that either meant he had been really lucky or he was a natural.

Right as he thought that, he heard a slap and saw Teal storming off, screaming something about desirous Reploids. X burst out laughing at the sight, and Zero suddenly fell out of a bush near Storm Eagle doing the same. There was a thud behind him and X saw one of the snipers had fallen from his perch after watching the whole thing through his scope. He could also hear the other Hunters snickering through the radio net.

"What's going on here?" Everyone snapped back to attention as Sigma walked towards them after reporting the action to the police sergeant.

"Nothing, sir." The Hunters answered as one.

Sigma's eyes narrowed and it was paramount that he _did_ know what had happened, but he said nothing more. "Report back to base for repairs if necessary; otherwise, you are free to roam the city but remain on 30-minute alert. Dismissed. Storm Eagle, X, and Zero, stay behind."

* * *

**Abel City General Hospital, 30 minutes later**

Teal sighed as she changed out of her EMT uniform. She hated the thing; it sexualized her, but she couldn't do anything about it.

She reflected on the events of the past hour, but mostly, her interaction with that Reploid. Despite his rather aggressive approach, she had to admit that he was handsome, and his personality was definately the type she could go for. But...walking around with a Reploid, what would everyone else think?

"Alex?" She asked him of all her team members because he was male and they had previously gone out. While it had fallen through, Teal still trusted him above the others. "What would you think if I went out with a Reploid?"

"Depends on the Reploid. Though there are some on the Hunters many of us have been sizing up as potential rivals..."

Teal laughed. "I'll take that as an 'I don't care.'"

"Hey, what's that supposed to mean?"

Teal didn't answer and walked out, flashing a smile at him as she passed.

* * *

"Agh...dammit..." Storm Eagle grumbled, cursing himself for saying it over the net.

"You're not still hung up over her, are you?" Zero asked. They were currently heading for a club that was a favorite of the Hunters and quite a few eye-catching girls.

"No..."

"That was hardly convincing; sounds more like a yes to me," X joked. His tone suddenly became more serious and he continued, "Don't worry man, I'm sure if you keep at that act you'll get someone."

"It's not that. You guys have just been doing casual flirting with no long term plans. I abstained from that because I wanted to have a serious relationship."

The trio continued on in silence for a few moments before Zero broke it. "Well, unlike most people you've got a second chance." He smirked and gestured to the entrance to the club, and sure enough, Teal was loitering near it, trying to look casual and ignore the repeated glances of Boomer Kuwanger.

They parked their bikes and X and Zero walked in, muttering words of encouragement to Storm Eagle as he nervously approached Teal. X quickly shepherded the reluctant Kuwanger inside.

"Fortune favors the bold, bud. Should've tried it before Storm Eagle did if you wanted her."

Teal looked up and saw the avian Reploid approaching, gratefullly noting that Kuwanger had disappeared. She smiled and met him halfway.

A few minutes later, X, Zero, and almost every other patron were stunned to see the two walk in as a couple. Teal remembered vividly the priceless expression of jealousy and shock on Boomer Kuwanger's face.

* * *

**Repair Bay, Sigma Palace, the present day**

Teal's eyes welled with tears as she continued to recall their first date. Thankfully, Dr. Cain broke the stream of now-painful memories and handed her a welder's mask.

"I have to weld his armor plating back on; this will only take a little bit but it's best if you shield your eyes. Don't worry; after this he'll be good as new. I just wanted to leave him deactivated since the welding hurts a bit."

She nodded gratefully and pulled the mask over her face. So much had changed since that night, and the months that followed, when she believed they could have a happy life together. So much had changed since then. Especially since the hostage rescue...

* * *

**Sigma Palace entrance, Three weeks ago**

It was barely a day after Sigma's devastating missile strike, and the Hunters were only now recieving reports that numerous hostages from around the city had been taken by Sigma's forces and the Militia during the chaos. They wouldn't be able to pull off a rescue any time soon with their resources stretched so thin, unless...

Storm Eagle sighed and looked back at the other three Maverick generals who were willing to attempt the most dangerous action of their lives. "There can't be any turning back beyond this point. If anyone wants to opt out, I won't blame them. It's absolutely understandable if you fear for your own safety."

"What about you, Storm Eagle?" asked the humanoid **(A/N: Yes the OC)** Reploid.

"I have nothing to lose in this endeavor, Judas. I will not fight for Sigma if I can help it. And I can."

"Alright..." the Reploid began to open a channel to the Hunters. Soon the transmission came through, and Storm Eagle sighed with relief as he saw X had answered.

"Hunter Base."

"X...it's me."

"Storm...!"

"Not now. Listen. A few of us haven't agreed to Sigma's plans, and we're going to try and break out the hostages just after the brig's guard change at 1130 hours. Bring as many Hunters as you can by 1200; no hardware or it'll slow us down. Try to have evac ships on standby, though."

"...Alright..." X cut the transmission without another word. Storm Eagle sighed. For now there was nothing to do but wait until the time came to move.

Unknown to him, the transmission had been routed to more than one recipient.

* * *

X and Zero teleported in front of the entrance to Sigma Palace.

"Are you two it?"

"Yeah, other than six unarmed dropships."

"Then let's make it quick. Down this tunnel."

Moments later, the wall to the first floor of the palace brig was blown open by one of Storm Eagle's bombs.

"Hey, what the fuck was that?" A guard began jogging over. He only had time to register X and Zero's presence before Storm Eagle impaled him with razor feathers and he fell almost silently.

"Spread out to your assigned cell blocks. Kill any guards there. The gates are alarmed, so release them all at once to give the greatest amount of people the chance of escaping. Try to keep noise to a minimum until the gates are released."

Five minutes later, every guard on the floor was dead and they were ready. But just as Storm Eagle gave the signal, the lift opened.

Inside were five Reploids in Ride Armors.

The commander gave a cold acknowledgement to Judas before ordering his men to attack. The battle was a disaster; though all five Ride Armors were disabled, the alarm had been hit as soon as they engaged. The prisoners had all been released, but they were crowding around the tunnel and it wasn't big enough to allow many through at once.

The five would-be-rescuers were running towards their exit tunnel as well when Sigma stepped out of the lift and, with a single jump, covered the distance between them and the crowd of prisoners.

"Going somewhere?" As he spoke, Flame Mammoth, Spark Mandrill, and Chill Penguin stepped out of the lift and began moving over to the prisoners, who were now being held at buster-point by Judas.

Faster than thought, Sigma ignited his saber and charged the five of them. Storm Eagle tried to lift off, but his large wings made an easy target and Sigma sliced one off before knocking the avian Reploid to the ground with a deep slice to the chest. Boomer Kuwanger was next, being fooled into teleporting onto Sigma's saber, and Sting Chameleon fared no better, ending up dismembered and headless within seconds.

_"NO!"_ X screamed at seeing Storm Eagle's demise. Blinded by grief, he charged Sigma, firing wildly as he did.

"X! Don't do it!" Zero warned, but it was too late. Sigma easily stopped X's rush with one hand and lifted him into a chokehold.

Zero drew his own saber and charged, hoping to force Sigma to let go of X. With a single, fluid motion, Sigma disarmed Zero, sliced off his left arm, and ran him through. Zero gasped in pain and then surprise as Sigma sheathed his saber and grabbed Zero in a chokehold too.

"Do you see the potential we Reploids possess now? When we fight for ourselves, there are no human limitations to restrict us! Behold!" Sigma spun then both around as the four Mavericks generals led the prisoners back to their cells, aided by a doubly-reinforced contingent of guards.

As if to emphasize his point, Sigma whistled and Velguarder suddenly projected an image onto the wall. X watched in horror as the overloaded Hunter dropships were shot out of the sky by jets launched from the palace. The military had been placed on standby preceding the operation, but their own fighters only arrived in time to see the flaming wreckage of the last dropship plummet to the ground and explode in a fireball.

"No more!" X begged. "Just...kill me...now..."

"I'm afraid not, X. Both you and Zero have a lot to prove about your potential..." Letting that thought hang in the air, Sigma tossed them both into the tunnel they had made as several maintenance droids began welding a steel patch over it.

Storm Eagle fought to stay concious through his pain. He could not believe that Judas had betrayed them. He followed almost as strict a moral code as Storm Eagle himself. Suddenly a cry drew his attention.

"Storm Eagle!" He turned at the sound of his name and saw Judas escorting Teal to her cell, and making no attempt to mask his desirous motives. Enraged, Storm Eagle got to his feet.

_"Judas! You backstabbing scum!"_ Without a means to fly or much coordination, Storm Eagle's charge was clumsy, but he closed the distance fast for such a badly-damaged Reploid. Storm Eagle flipped over as he approached and sliced the surprised humanoid apart with his talons.

"Storm Eagle..." Teal hugged him tightly as he struggled to stay awake.

"My...dear...I'm sorry..." Storm Eagle's voice was barely a whisper.

"You did everything you could." At that, he relaxed slightly and sank into a peaceful darkness, a slight smile on his face. Teal remained crying over his unconcious body until several guards had roughly separated them and thrown her back into her cell.

* * *

**Repair Bay, Sigma Palace, the present**

Teal returned from her thoughts and realized she must have fallen asleep. The welder's mask was gone, and someone was gently stroking her hair.

"Ah, you're finally - omph!" Storm Eagle grunted as Teal hit him hard under the chin, but in the next second she had embraced him tightly.

"What did you think you were doing, trying to take a missile like that?" Storm Eagle sighed and folded his wings around her before replying.

"I had no choice. There wasn't anyone who could stop it or intercept it, even if they wanted to."

"Did...did X try to help?"

Storm Eagle nodded. "He...was taking it hard until he saw I was okay."

That seemed to answer Teal's implicit question, and as Storm Eagle slid off the table and onto his own feet, she kissed him passionately.

Dr. Cain smiled as he watched the two interact. Nothing made him happier than a manifestation, however small, of his and Dr. Light's vision. A single step now could be bounds in the future.

In this confused, yet starkly divided world, maybe there was still hope for peaceful coexistence. Cain just hoped it could happen before the conflict consumed all.

* * *

**Author's Note: So OCs...I don't think I did a very good job considering that I've hyped up this OC Maverick general a bit before this chapter, but I'd appreciate any and all feedback on that matter.**

**Some people have posted that they have issues seeing new updates. I'm sorry if you can't, but it's some issue with FanFiction's system (I've been getting it too) that I have no power to fix. Rest assured, if the description's updated then the chapter was published, even if it doesn't show up.**

**Thanks for all the views, reviews, and favorites, guys, it means a lot to me!**

**Next time, it's back to game adaptation for the long-anticipated Sigma Stage 1!**

**UPDATE: For those of you waiting on Chapter 14 of "Variable X," I've been working on it, rest assured. I had to start from square one again because of this site's blasted editor.**


	14. The Only Hope

**Author's Note: Sorry I took this long to update "Variable X". I'd like to say I've been out on everything from sailing to college applications, but I've also been writing for "Star-Crossed Love" then, so I don't have any excuses. All I can say is I hope this chapter makes up for it.**

****At long last, I have incorporated other future Mavericks into the story! Look out for them in this and following chapters!****

* * *

**Sigma City, 1km from palace entrance**

The twilight sky in front of Sigma Palace was lit up by dozens of teleporting Hunters. Within seconds, almost a hundred of them were assembled, and dropships soon delivered their hardware while military aircraft kept the palace's UCAV drones busy to keep the ground clear.

Despite the airborne carnage, Zero remained unfazed. "Let's split up. Hunters, come with me: we'll create a diversion so X can sneak inside and undermine their defenses."

"You heard him! Follow Zero and create as much noise as possible. I'll try to sabotage their defenses from the inside."

The palace was ringed by a spike-lined pit to isolate it from the small city Sigma had built to house his army, and the plasma bridge connecting the two had been powered off when the anti-teleport field had been breached. All that remained was a passageway of hovering platforms, occupied by Turn Cannons and surrounded by several Jamminger patrols.

X wasn't concerned about that; his weaponry could easily take down the defenses. More worrying was the massive army standing between the Hunters and the edge of the ditch. Though almost all the Hunters were in Ride Armors, tanks, or speeder bikes, the sheer number of Sigma's minions largely negated the quality advantage. To make matters worse, enemy Ride Armor contingents were being deployed to the area, though with so little room to maneuver without trampling their allies, whoever was coordinating base defense had made the wise decision to hold back.

X switched to Chameleon Sting and hoped it would last long enough for him to break through the ranks of Sigma's army. If it didn't, he'd be scrap...X quickly forced the pessimistic thoughts from his head and focused on plotting a way through the rushing mass of metal.

* * *

"Tank Company C, watch your left!" Zero shouted into his comm as a Mole Borer burst out of a hidden tunnel and charged. The tanks scattered before the rampaging machine and began pounding it with their main guns. One lucky shot struck the Mole Borer's cockpit and penetrated the thick armor, killing the pilot. An opportunistic Hunter scrambled inside and fired up the machine again as its cockpit began to repair itself.

Zero silently thanked Dr. Cain for building the Mole Borers with an enclosed cockpit and viewscreens rather than a windshield as the newly-commandered vehicle turned and pounded a surprised Met company to scrap. A Ride Armor moved to intercept, but Zero threw his saber like a boomerang and the Reploid pilot was decapitated. Another blessing to count: his saber could penetrate Ride Armor shields.

The ground suddenly shook as a downed fighter plane crashed into an entrenched position, flattening several Axe Maxes and a Mega Tortoise. Immediately two Hunters in Ride Armors were on the scene and clearing out the remaining defenders.

"Just one more entrenchment, then the LZ is clear," reported a lieutenant. Zero acknowledged and tossed him a small canister.

"The air war's starting to turn in our favor. We should have CAS planes inbound. Use this when they arrive." The lieutenant nodded and ran back to his speeder bike. Zero jumped on his own and followed, holding another airstrike marker in his free hand. A heavy thud issued from the dugout as they approached it, and seconds later an artillery shell had vaporized the lieutenant and his vehicle. Zero veered to avoid the explosion and shrapnel before tossing his marker into the dugout, firing at the defenders with his Z-Buster to divert their attention.

By the time one of the artillery crew noticed the smoke beacon, the air force had already sealed their fate with a missile strike. Zero threw a quick salute at the jet as it passed and ordered Web Spider and his team to secure the dugout.

"LZ secure! Begin landing troops!" called another Hunter. Zero smiled. Now with the numbers of the human military on their side, Sigma had no chance of winning. It was only a matter of how many he took down with him.

* * *

X had quickly discovered trying to ascend the platforms was nothing short of a fool's errand. But he had also found out that a charged Rolling Shield was excellent at keeping the Jammingers off his back.

Now it was time to do something crazy. X dashed off the platform and clung to the far side of the trench. It had been angled to prevent people from climbing it, but the designer hadn't figured in X's abilities to wall-dash and change directions in midair. Soon, X was at the foot of the massive gates of the outer wall.

"Whoa, what...!" a surprised guard was quickly put down and X set to work rigging the gate with several breaching charges he'd been given. When that was done, he activated the plasma bridge and retreated to let the charges work their magic.

The massive gates were blown off their hinges by the shaped bombs, and a company of Ride Armors waiting in the courtyard beyond was promptly crushed by the wreckage. X dashed back towards the fight in the city to help the Hunters break through, trying to keep out the thought that he'd just killed hundreds of Reploids. Suddenly, he heard the sound of metallic wings above him and smiled.

Storm Eagle landed in front of him. "It's time we tip our hand to the dear commander, X." As he spoke, Boomer Kuwanger teleported to his side and Sting Chameleon materialized at the far end of the bridge. "We've got the battle in the city handled; you focus on getting inside and stopping Sigma!"

X nodded and appraised Zero and the human generals of the update and stepped over the gates. He cursed as he saw Spark Mandrill being chased by several dozen miscellaneous enemies. Dashing to help his friend, X raised his arm and charged another Rolling Shield. As the shield enveloped him, he became a hurtling ball of destruction as the minions shattered from the brute force of being hit.

"Thanks, X. I'm going to help out down there; take care of yourself."

X smiled and nodded at his newest friend and ally. However, the parting was cut short when a company of Ride Armors began fanning out around the area as a first line of defense. X could also see a large number of EMP weaponry being mounted to positions on the far side of the courtyard.

"Zero, looks like you guys are in for a tough one once you get to the fortress. They're bringing out enough EMP short out Abel City. I'm going around."

"Never mind that, get back down here!" Zero replied as he dragged a deactivated Magna Centipede behind cover. "They got the jump on us! The city's crawling with hidden turrets and artillery guns! See if you can take them out from behind, but I'd be careful; a lot of long range guns from the palace are also trained on us!"

"Don't worry, I'm on my way, Zero." As X turned to comply, there was the clang of metal on metal directly behind him. "Going somewhere, X?" Vile sneered.

The two stood at a silent impasse for a few seconds. Then, a new voice came from below them.

"Why don't you and your goons pick on someone your own size, Vile?" growled Magma Dragoon as he landed and folded his wings. Dozens of other Hunters emerged from under the palace, unclipping their grappling hooks from the wall as they did. X silently thanked Zero for recommending the creation of the 14th unit to Sigma some months ago.

"Pah!" scoffed Vile. "What, Captain Hothead here thinks he can save the day? I'll just kick all of your asses!"

Dragoon reared his head back and his body glowed. "Bring it on! One S-ranked Hunter to another!"

"Uh, Zero, can you spare me for a moment? Dragoon just took on Vile."

"No! I'm sorry, X, but we can't! The human military's pulled their troops back until we can get rid of those cannons! The more casualties we take, the higher the chance this assault will stall!" Zero took a moment to calm himself as he gave up on Magna Centipede. "Look, I know you're worried, but Dragoon's one of the best we have, even among S-rankers."

X continued to look on worriedly until he was sure Dragoon had it before reluctantly activating Chameleon Sting and retreating down the plasma bridge. Behind him, he heard one of the Hunters yell, "Yeah, Dragoon! Show this bastard who he's messing with!" X heard a roar behind him a short time later as Dragoon spewed dozens of flaming napalm bombs into the sky. The fiery projectiles rained down seconds later, destroying turrets, Mavericks, and anything else unfortunate enough to be in the way.

_"Well, I guess he_ has_ got it covered,"_ X mused. "Zero, looks like Dragoon's last attack took out the artillery guns."

"Noted. Still, can you get down here?"

"Sure. On my way. How'd Storm Eagle and the others make out?"

"Not too bad, actually. They're fine since the defenses are programmed to leave them alone even though they're destroying them."

"Go figure. I'll be down in a sec."

* * *

**A half hour later**

X had just finished clearing the city defenses with Homing Torpedoes when an army began to march down the bridge from the palace.

"Wait...that means they must've...terminated Dragoon and his unit..." X said in horror.

"They're probably hiding for now," Zero assured him, refusing to consider any other possibility. "We'll hold them here; now that the humans are landing their troops we have the manpower we need. Just get inside and secure the courtyard!" Zero ducked as Blast Hornet buzzed him and his stinger caught on the former's already-messy hair. "Agh!"

"Sorry Zero, I know you don't like others messing with your ponytail."

"Which is exactly why you do it," grumbled the red robot, but Blast Hornet had already moved on to rain Parasitic Bombs on the approaching horde.

"Shouldn't that result in disciplinary action or something? You know he's not the type to learn a lesson verbally."

"Bah, I'm not Sigma. It's fine by me to have some fun now and then so long as it doesn't affect your ability to be serious."

"Since when did you turn into a benevolent Reploid?"

"X, drop it. Get around them and inside the fortress. Storm Eagle and the others already retreated inside."

X gave his partner a quizzical look before departing to carry out his orders. As he reached the trench in front of the fortress he realized the platforms were gone.

"Psst, X!" A nearby voice whispered. X looked around briefly but couldn't see anyone. A few shuffling noises later and Web Spider made himself more clearly seen in the night. "I can get you past here. Give me a second." He cast his hands out and a carpet of electric webbing weaved itself as it left his body, glowing a faint blue with residual voltage but safe to walk on. Soon it reached across the chasm to a small entrance just below the main gates. X tested the webbing and found it surprisingly solid and stable.

"Thanks, Web Spider. I owe you one." X began to crawl across the webbing, slowly so as to avoid attracting attention. When he reached the main gates he looked behind him and realized the battle was going poorly. The Mole Borer that had been commandeered earlier had smashed dozens of minions aside, but it was a burning wreck now that the palace's defense turrets were working again. The humans had once again bravely taken up the task of guarding the landing zone once they had found out about that, leaving the Maverick Hunters stranded again.

X scaled the fortress wall and dropped a charged Fire Wave, melting many of the smaller minions but doing next to nothing against the groups of Ride Armors. The hulking mechs tromped on without a break in pace, joining the chaos at the base of the bridge. Air strikes and artillery bombardments by the human military continued, but the Ride Armors lived up to their name.

An electric net encircled three of the walkers and dropped them into the spike-lined trench where they exploded, but Web Spider was immediately beset by a horde. X wrenched his gaze away from the destruction below and ducked behind a wrecked Ride Armor in the palace courtyard to charge his Chameleon Sting.

* * *

Zero cursed as his saber sparked and fizzled out. The damn thing was out of power again. Sigma didn't need to worry about such failure of his weapon as his body could charge it, but Zero wasn't built with such a provision; the saber was in fact Sigma's spare weapon.

He reached for a spare power pack only to find that he'd used his last one. He sighed and switched to his buster. He'd have to scrounge up a power pack for his saber elsewhere.

He blew apart one Ride Armor with a charged shot to its chest, and took out another by knocking its torso off. He was doing great, but one Hunter could only do so much. Around him, Hunters bled and died despite his best efforts to save them while Sigma's forces continued their relentless advance. Zero's free hand curled around his last airstrike marker as he unclipped it. Now was as good a time as ever...

"Maverick Hunters, air support reporting. Be advised that we have received permission to deploy nuclear weapons."

"No need to violate the Geneva Convention on account of internal violence," Zero replied. Amidst cries of outrage, he continued, "We use nukes to put these guys down, and we'll just look weak. Maverick Hunters, military, government, all of us. The loss of face might lead to far more destruction than Sigma and Mavericks have caused with the world so eager to claim Reploid tech for themselves. We can't take that chance."

"I'm afraid you'll have to make do without us then, Hunters. Those of us on red alert are the only ones with ordnance."

"Roger - agh!" Zero stumbled in his run from cover as an artillery shell landed near him. The unsecured airstrike beacon went flying, releasing its telltale smoke as it went. Zero looked behind him and saw the Ride Armors had taken the shell easily. Looking back to the marker, now on the ground only feet from him and the plume of smoke now large enough to be noticed, Zero raised his buster and fired, blasting the canister apart.

Thankfully, none of the bomber pilots had noticed the incident and they were all returning to base to rearm with conventional weapons. That was small comfort to the red robot as he ducked and rolled under Ride Armor fists. He had to maneuver so often that there wasn't a chance to use his Z-buster.

The game of attrition continued until one Ride Armor punched another, leading to a three-way battle between the angered pilots. Zero staggered away, exhausted and low on power. Reluctantly, he signaled a retreat. The enemy greatly outmatched them, their air support was gone, and their ranks were heavily depleted. The assault was a failure.

"X, I called a retreat. Pull out...Can you hear me, X? Acknowledge. X? X?" Zero cursed. "A Maverick Hunter's job is never done..."

The screech of missiles gave Zero enough time to roll behind the toppled ruins of a skyscraper before half of the city was covered in searing plasma. He looked up to see formations of strange-looking aircraft arcing into the sky, leaving contrails behind as they ascended.

Zero looked around and noticed transports were dropping off squadrons of Reploid soldiers, as well as a few animal Mavericks. He was approached by a tall Reploid with military uniform-themed armor.

"Are you Zero? I apologize for our late response." Zero had to take a moment to process his rapid speech.

"Who are you?"

"I suppose you could call me the leader of this group that is so busy saving your hides."

"Don't forget, pal, I'm in charge here."

"Except you are a commander, equivalent to a major in the ranks of the Repliforce, and I'm a colonel. I outrank you, therefore _I _am in charge here. Besides," he gestured to the Reploid soldiers behind him "most of the soldiers still fighting are ours, and our weaponry was designed by Dr. Cain himself for anti-Reploid operations."

"Since when did Dr. Cain make a official Reploid military?" Zero's eyes narrowed in suspicion and he raised his buster.

The colonel chuckled and drew a beam sword, the blade casting an eerie red glow over them both. Zero immediately made a noise of envy that went unnoticed. "I daresay fighting me would be a waste of time, but to answer your question, he had been planning one ever since Sigma went rogue. We're not close to complete yet; we've only a land army that's a quarter of its intended size, but it looks like you'll take our assistance regardless."

"Fair enough, colonel," Zero grumbled as he climbed over the toppled building. "If you'll excuse me, I've got some business to take care of..."

"I think you'll do your friend better service if you go in with these." The colonel tossed a power pack and an E-Tank to Zero. "I don't know how well the pack will work with your weapon, but I know a melee fighter when I see one. Far be it from me to keep my allies from fighting their hardest."

Zero thanked him, took the E-Tank, and raced up the plasma bridge, slashing, shooting, and weaving his way through Sigma's army until he reached the palace gate and stopped. Around him lay the ruins of Magma Dragoon and the entire 14th unit.

"What happened?" he whispered.

"He was on us...like flies on meat..." groaned a soldier. "Nothing we had...could harm him..."

"Zero, take...care, he's a lot stronger than we thought..." Dragoon warned. "But...you'll have to kill him...to get to Sigma...he went that way..."

Zero nodded. "You've done your part and fought brilliantly, all of you." He called for a medevac for Dragoon and his men before proceeding the way the dragon had directed him.

* * *

**Defensive Rampart 3b, Sigma Palace**

X tore a Gun Volt apart with his Spiral Crush and climbed the rungs of the ladder behind it. _"Finally a way that goes in the general direction of the production facilities..."_

As he climbed the next ladder Vile fell from a shaft on the opposite side of the room.

"Come down here, you coward!" he screamed upwards at his assailant. "I'm going to strangle you with your own fucking ponytail!"

X stepped forward, charging his buster. "Fat chance."

Vile repeatedly blasted the ceiling above X his cannon, causing the wall to collapse "X, look out!" Zero jumped down, slashing the debris apart with his saber, and pushed his friend back as Vile scrambled through the door behind him and the debris blocked X's path. Zero dashed through the doors after Vile and found him scrambling into a Ride Armor.

"Ha ha ha! Welcome to your demise, Zero! This one's immune to that little popgun of yours!"

"Then let's see how it likes this!" Zero drew his saber as Vile charged, but just before he brought the blade down on the Ride Armor's fist the energy blade fizzled out. The blasted things really needed a power meter.

"Dammit, not now!" Zero pleaded, but it did no good. Cursing, he threw the now-useless saber at the Ride Armor and drew his buster, hoping to buy X enough time for them both to find a way to take Vile down.

* * *

After a few carefully-aimed charged shots, X managed to break the wall of debris. As he did he heard Zero scream and the crackling of Vile's electric prison. X dashed through the first door and blew the second apart with his buster in his haste.

His rush was stopped by the sight of Zero in his plight of weeks prior.

"X, do what I tell you or he's history!"

"Don't...listen to him, X! Go ahead and blast him!"

"Dream on, Zero! If this armor's invulnerable to your buster, it's more than a match for his ancient weapons! Prepare to be terminated, X!" He dropped Zero unceremoniously in front of him and trampled in as he charged at X, the Ride Armor's spiked feet leaving holes all over the former's body.

X scaled the wall to avoid Vile, hoping to land in the cockpit and drag him out, but the shock of the machine hitting the wall knocked him off and delivered him into Vile's uppercut. As X fell back down for a second time Vile hit him again, sending him across the room until he skidded to a stop in front of Zero's shattered body.

X heard the trampling sound of the Ride Armor and turned to face it, but to his surprise Vile was not manning it. Before he could react Vile grabbed him from behind and sliced both of his forearms off with Metal Crescents. He caught one and stabbed it into X's helmet while the latter tried to block the thrust with the stumps of his arms. Vile simultaneously ignited his flamethrowers, causing X to writhe and scream in pain as his armor and insides were slowly melted. X desperately tried to switch to Storm Tornado to extinguish the flames before remembering that he'd lost all his weapon data with his buster. He was defenseless.

The two struggled for a few more moments before X's fragile brace against Vile's arm gave out and the boomerang plunged deep into his helmet. Vile stepped back and began to charge up a Fatboy as X collapsed.

"End of the line, X. It's been fun playing with you, and I'll admit you _have_ grown stronger. But you're still no match for me."

Both of them looked up as an explosion shook the room.

"Enjoy this...while you can...Vile...! Soon...the military...will put you down..."

"Hah! You think I give a damn about fighting Sigma's war? I've had one and only one purpose, X, and once that purpose is fulfilled, I'll gladly be retired if it means you die before me, and negotiation won't save you now, or ever!" Vile cocked his cannon.

"You just don't get it, do you? It doesn't matter how outmatched we are, we just have to win!" Zero suddenly broke free and tackled Vile from behind.

"Whoa!" Vile lurched backwards and his shot went into the ceiling, causing rubble to bury them both. At the same time, the Ride Armor dashed towards the carnage, forcing X to dive out of the way.

Inside the rubble pile, Vile gasped as a small light on his chest began to blink red. Sigma had been playing with him all along. Well, if he was going to die, he wasn't going to go quietly.

The Ride Armor quickly shifted the pile of debris aside and attacked Zero, though the red robot dodged it and fired his charged buster at Vile. To his surprise the latter dove straight for him, catching the shot to the face. Vile's body reeled back from the impact, but his momentum carried him far enough for him to tackle Zero before his body exploded in a blinding explosion.

X had been forlornly fumbling with a repair kit with no luck when he heard the blast. He whirled around and ran straight for Zero.

"No! Zero!" As he ran to him, the bottom dropped out of his stomach. The damage looked severe, almost irreparable...X cradled Zero's shattered body as best as he could in his arms. "Hang in there, buddy, I'll call for a medevac. I have a repair kit..."

"No, X...there's no time..." Zero flinched as a surge of electricity coursed through his body. "...I've got...only minutes to live...and...Vile damaged my memory backup..."

"Dammit, Zero, we've been through things tougher than this! Remember the time we double-dated and you were terrified? You survived that, I'm not losing you to some suicidal maniac!"

Zero cracked a smile that soon faded. "X...your buster's damaged...take mine...and remember what I taught you..." He detached his right forearm and offered it to X with his other hand.

"Stop speaking like that, Zero! I won't lose you! I refuse to lose you!"

"X...you're power is greater than any other's...but even you can't save me now. Please...go on...and remember me...agh...X...take my IC chip when I die...and maybe I'll return...someday..."

"I will if it comes to that, Zero. But you can't just give up now!"

"Sigma...still needs to be stopped...go now...and stop him...Maverick Hunter X...you're...Earth's...only...hope..." With that, Zero's body went slack and his head fell back.

"Zero...?" X whispered quietly, tears falling onto his friend's face. Of course, there was no answer. X opened Zero's chest and slowly removed his IC chip.

Other Hunters had now entered the room, and as one they collectively bowed their heads to pay their respects to their fallen leader. But they all remained silent.

"Zero..." X held his friend a little tighter and shed a few more tears. "A noble warrior, inspiration for us all, and my lifelong friend." He paused before continuing. "You were the ultimate symbol of hope for our kind, the beam of light that we rallied to in this time of darkness. But...even though the brightest of stars can fall, the light you cast will never fade. You will live in our hearts and in our memories, and those that follow us, for eternity."

X gently set down Zero's body and stood, raising his arm in salute as the others did the same. _"In paces requiescat_, Zero. Your sacrifice will never be forgotten."

He turned slowly to those assembled before him and spoke. "Help me with this repair kit, and get a medevac for Zero's body. We'll have a proper retirement ceremony back at Hunter Base."

With the help of another Hunter, Zero's right forearm was soon attached to X and the latter's other arm repaired. _"I will never forget you, Zero. So long as I wield this buster against my foes, I carry you into battle with me. You will forever be my companion, in war, and hopefully, in peace when that day comes."_

Two medics entered and gently lifted Zero's body onto a stretcher. A repaired Magna Centipede, along with Blast Hornet and Web Spider, appeared in the entryway, parting respectfully with their heads bowed as his body was carried out. X followed and almost dropped down a hole where the path he'd taken to that fateful room once was. The Hunters had completely demolished it to make the palace courtyard their new forward base to besiege the inner walls of the palace.

Across the courtyard, Hunters snapped to reverent attention as Zero was carried to the waiting medevac transport at the base of the bridge to Sigma City.

The moment was shattered when a hidden door burst open near Wheel Gator, Flame Stag, and Overdrive Ostrich and another animal Maverick stepped out. X charged back into battle, but Wire Sponge had already latched onto two of them with his appendages. Flame Stag and Wheel Gator both bucked violently as they were infected with the Sigma Virus. By the time X fired at Wire Sponge, it was too late to stop their corruption and both of the former Hunters withdrew into the depths of the palace before X could stop them.

While X was distracted and Overdrive Ostrich fled Wire Sponge, Morph Moth dove from the ramparts and bit the unsuspecting Magna Centipede. Just as with Flame Stag and Wheel Gator, Magna Centipede jerked and spasmed wildly as the Sigma Virus corrupted his system. Once infected, he clung to his former assailant and the two flew back up the ramparts and into the fortress interior.

The fleeing Overdrive Ostrich was suddenly caught by a falling blob of gel that quickly transformed into a crystal prison. With his target immobilized Crystal Snail advanced at his leisure and dragged his victim inside the palace to complete the infection process.

The whole capture had gone too fast for anyone to do anything, leaving everyone in the courtyard paralyzed with uncertainty.

"Sir?" one of them asked X.

"We still have a job to do, and a war to finish. Move out!" X waved his arm forward and lead the charge against the inner defensive wall.

_"I'll make Sigma pay..."_

* * *

**Throne Room, Sigma Palace**

"Violen, you know your task. Go forth and accomplish it."

"Yes, Sigma." Violen grunted and lumbered out of the room, knocking aside some of the Mavericks attempting to enter.

"Hey, watch it buddy!" Wheel Gator snarled, but Violen quickly shut him up by extending his mace.

"Hmph!" scoffed Serges in disapproval. "He couldn't sneak through a riot undetected."

"You forget, Serges, the power of Mega Man X. The reconstruction is too important to be jeopardized by the loss of only one of you, should he succeed. Though both of you are designed with his defeat in mind, there is no telling what other surprises he may have in store."

"Bah, the memento of Light shall be crushed beneath your heel with the body I have built you, Sigma! He will not live to hinder the reconstruction, and if he will, Zero shall crush him as he was designed to once we complete him!"

Sigma studied Serges with mild interest. "You should know nothing of X or Zero. And yet...you seem to know everything about them both."

Serges left Sigma's question hanging and addressed the eight Mavericks in front of him. "Crystal Snail! Magna Centipede! You will come with me once Violen has returned with our new...accomplice. The rest of you shall return to our base, immediately. We cannot afford to attract attention."

* * *

**Repliforce forward base**

Agile watched solemnly as Zero's body was taken to the medevac from the command center. Though he hadn't gotten to know the red robot in person his legend far preceded his presence.

The hatch to the room was suddenly battered down.

"You. You're coming with me." Agile drew his beam rapier only to be met with a morning star the size of his body. A single blow sent him flying hard enough into the wall to knock him out. Violen grabbed him and was about to teleport away when he saw the medevac with Zero's body depart.

"Masters, the transport has departed but I have custody of the target. Shall I pursue?"

"No, Violen, you've done your part. Return to our base."

"Affirmative. Return imminent."

* * *

**Author's note: Bet you didn't see that twist coming, did you?**

**I wrote in the capture of the _Mega Man X2_ Mavericks because four of them were originally part of the Maverick Hunters and I found it unbelievable that they would coincidentally leave the Hunters the way Squid Adler did.**

**And yes, in this universe, Wolf Sigma was built by Serges. I just didn't think it was possible that Sigma could build such a form for himself.**

**Zero stole the spotlight in this chapter, I know. It's the last time he shows up in this fic, though, so I figured I should give him this one.**

**I apologize for taking 4 months to update this story and prioritizing my StarCraft fic. Rest assured, I haven't forgotten "Variable X".**


	15. The Fight Goes On

**Author's Note: Hey guys, I'm back! If you didn't read the story description in a while, I've updated it to reflect that, yes, I will be adapting both _Mega Man X _and _Mega Man X2 _in this story.**

**In the meantime, enjoy! I hope it was worth the wait!**

* * *

**Courtyard, Sigma Palace**

The gate to the inside of palace vanished in a cloud of smoke as the demolition charges went off. X raised his buster and called for a charge. As soldiers, human and Reploid alike, stormed the castle, X made to follow suit when he noticed someone standing behind him.

"Sir..."

"You don't have to fight, Squid Adler. I know that it's especially complicated for you."

"No, it's not that...I was wondering if we could have Octopardo brought back alive?"

"I can't. We don't have men to spare as guards, Adler, and besides, the government has branded him a Class 10 Maverick. He's to be brought back dead, no exceptions."

"But there has to be some cure for the Sigma Virus, doesn't there? I mean, it's just a computer program, isn't it?"

X sighed. "I don't know. I hope there is." He paused before continuing. "I'll see what I can do to help Launch Octopus' case. How are Dragoon and his men doing?"

"They're recovering. None of them are predicted to...well, you know what, from their injuries. Also, since they're doing well and HQ got its government garrison just now, I was wondering if I could accompany you, sir?"

Sometimes Adler struck X, worriedly so, as too naive to handle the power that the newer Reploids possessed. Hopefully his rude awakening to the stark truth of Maverick hunting would come later rather than sooner.

* * *

**Throne Room, Sigma Palace**

As soon as the gate into the palace itself had been breached, Sigma had been busy directing group after group of his minions against the swarm of Hunters and soldiers coming for his head. They took losses with each encounter, but they were, with few exceptions, not enough to stall the assault for long.

Alarms suddenly blared as several key rooms were breached. Fortunately, he'd held his best cards in reserve.

"Generals, wipe them out!"

Whereas moments before the situation had looked hopeless for him, now it was the exact opposite. Flame Mammoth, Launch Octopus, Chill Penguin, and Armored Armadillo, each backed up by a sizable army, had reversed the tide of battle within seconds and soon routed the humans. The human-based Hunters put up far more resistance, but their numbers were so few that it didn't matter much except when one of them tied up a general for a few moments. The animal-based ones wisely beat a tactical retreat, saving their power for later. And the Repliforce had shown discipline that didn't befit a gang of thugs, let alone an army. Already in disarray following Agile's abduction, they were now fleeing the palace in their ships, leaving their gear and wounded comrades behind.

With the enemy in retreat and his warning to the Hunters set in stone, Sigma turned his attention back to monitoring his four deserters through palace cameras. Sting Chameleon and Boomer Kuwanger were nowhere to be seen, but he saw Storm Eagle in discussion with a human commander and Spark Mandrill fighting a horde of lesser robots, without much trouble.

Let those fools think they controlled their destinies, and let that naive Dr. Cain think he'd actually managed to neutralize the Sigma Virus. True, the countermeasure greatly weakened Sigma's ability to control them directly from a distance even if they didn't resist (which they most certainly would), but they were still infected and would register as such on any scanner.

And it was only a matter of time before the virus mutated again to improve upon that weakness. Before _he_ mutated again to become stronger and spread ever-more virulent strains of the virus across the globe. Before he returned, assuming he was ever defeated. Civilization was fighting a losing war; they just didn't know it yet.

In the meantime, though, there was no benefit to spoiling that impression. Sigma took another look at the monitors and knew the time was right.

His opponents could barely contain four Mavericks, albeit powerful ones. It was time to see what they would make of the horde of unstable psychopaths that served as both prisoners and prison guards. A single press of a switch and the deranged Reploids burst into the halls of the palace from hidden elevators. Another and the windows and open spaces sealed as the lights blinked out, sending the palace interior into darkness.

* * *

A shiver ran up Squid Adler's spine as crazed laughter echoed down the hall from seemingly all directions.

To his right, X switched his optics to night vision, cursing under his breath as he saw what approached. Almost a dozen maniacs were milling around at the end of the hallway, in an open area. What concerned him was that many of them were wearing knife gloves. As the name implied, they were built with razor-sharp steel claws embedded in each finger, and capable of incapacitating a Reploid with only a few swipes. X suspected that Sigma had corrupted Reploids solely for the purpose of using such lethal but short-ranged weapons.

X snapped his head around at a sound behind him. He realized Squid Adler was no longer next to him.

Indistinct shouting and a fresh round of crazed shrieks meant that he had bigger problems to worry about. X raised his buster and fired unhesitatingly at the first of the approaching maniacs. These Reploids were beyond hope, defective from their completion or warped irreparably by the Sigma Virus. The buster shot separated its victim's head from its body, but the next one in line grabbed the corpse and held it like a shield. X swore at the development and switched to Boomerang Cutter.

His first volley of three sliced off the head and limbs of a few more, but the maniacs were suicidally devoted to their newfound purpose of tearing him apart and simply shoved their comrades' corpses aside and continued their charge.

Now with almost no time left to take down over half a dozen of them, X began running backwards as fast as he could manage while charging his buster. He was alarmed for a minute when a single red shot the size of the hallway erupted from his buster before remembering he'd taken Zero's buster parts to replace his. Suicidal bloodlust was no match for searing plasma and the Reploids finally knew peace.

The way forward cleared, X started looking around for where Squid Adler had gone. The same scratching noise came from ahead. X couldn't see anything, but he charged a Chameleon Sting to be safe before proceeding.

He found himself in a tall room with spiderweb covering the walls. Several tall poles extended as far as he could see upward. A screech came from above him and X went invisible just before a large spider crashed down on the floor where he'd last been. Bospider retreated back up to the ceiling on one of the poles before X could counterattack, and dropped several smaller spider drones to the floor.

The drones immediately leaped towards X, hoping to pin him to the ground. X hastily swatted away them away, but they'd given an adequate distraction as he was a second too slow to dodge Bospider and ended up with his leg pinned. Thankfully the spider didn't seem to notice and it simply retreated back up to the ceiling again. He fired back at it, but its armor simply deflected his shots. The next time it came down, a large red eye in the center of its abdomen opened up and swept a sensor beam across the floor. X jumped it and fired back, causing Bospider to reel and screech.

_"Now we're talking," _he thought with satisfaction. Five more attempts to damage the monstrosity later though, X still couldn't see any visible signs of damage. It was time to switch tactics. X used a Boomerang Cutter to slash one of the poles apart, causing it and Bospider to topple to the ground with a crash, with most of the pole burying the upended spider. It managed to right itself just before X got within shooting range but without poles to web guide its crude optical system the machine was forced to use its scanner again.

X leaped on the spider and began firing shot after shot into its giant red eye. Bospider bucked more violently with each shot, attempting to throw him off. It finally succeeded after it reared too high and fell on its back, crushing X under its body.

* * *

As his boomerang returned to its rightful place atop his head, Boomer Kuwanger returned to his ceiling perch to seek out a new target. Seeing another maniac Reploid ahead, he raised his arm and released a single energy blade. The Reploid looked down to see it protruding from his chest before Kuwanger decapitated him with another.

A faint cry caught the attention of his finely-tuned audioreceptors. Not a sound Sigma's unstable goons would likely make. Kuwanger abandoned his idle ceiling perch and raced off to find the source.

As he drew closer he heard shrieks and buster fire, but also that voice again. He kicked the grate of a ventilation shaft out to see what he vaguely recognized as one of Sigma's fortress guardians dueling with X. But the call had come from above them.

He looked up to see Squid Adler bound to the ceiling with spiderweb. Without hesitating Kuwanger teleported close enough to jump and grab the webbing before slashing it apart. As he did another loud crash came from below and he saw Bospider flailing on the floor, trying to right itself.

But there was no sign of X.

"No!" Adler yelled and dove for the spider, Kuwanger sliding down the wall after him. Without hesitating, Adler pierced its thick armor with his tentacles and delivered the strongest electrical shock he could muster. Bospider jerked violently, and one of its legs wrapped around Adler. The two began struggling furiously as Boomer Kuwanger started pelting the former with energy cutters and strikes from his headpiece.

Neither of them seemed to be having any effect until Adler shocked the spider again. This time it lurched enough to right itself and launch more miniatures. The drones furiously began hacking away at Adler's tentacles before moving towards his body. Kuwanger shot them to pieces as he ran to X.

"X, are you okay?"

"I'm fine, just a little banged up. Go help Adler, I'll join you in a sec."

"Doesn't look like there's a need..." Kuwanger's voice trailed off as a brilliant blue flash lit up the room and Bospider collapsed, smoke and the odor of fried circuits pouring from four holes in its abdominal eye.

"Hell of a job, Squid Adler."

"Just doing my best to protect you, sir. You're more important to this operation than me. We should get a move on."

"Speaking of which..." Kuwanger didn't need to continue for X to know what he was about to bring up.

"I'll handle it. I don't want either of you to intercede." Off Adler's confused look Kuwanger explained to him in aside while X went ahead to find a way to reactivate the lights.

* * *

**Throne Room, Sigma Palace**

Sigma was furious. Of all things he should've predicted Storm Eagle's treason, but he hadn't counted on the avian luring away half of his generals.

"You called, sir?"

"Yes. Bring Teal here. Force her to cooperate by any means necessary but I want her alive." The guard bowed and walked out.

While the guard was on his errand Sigma mentally rehearsed what he would say. It was more out of habit from his Maverick Hunter days than anything - one had to be careful when briefing the media - but it had never failed him.

As the guard returned Velguarder stirred from its resting place in the corner and came to its master's side. Sigma dismissed the guard and stood over Teal, who was on her knees.

"I suppose you remember the conditions under which you were to be spared?"

Not expecting the question, she looked up in confusion. Sigma gave her a minute to digest the meaning of his words before addressing the Maverick Hunters.

"Maverick Hunters, why do you resist? Why do you refuse to awaken to the true potential of our kind? I shall give you one chance: come forward and lay your arms before me, and you shall be honored with a place in the new order we will create together!"

He paused. "I now speak directly to you, X. You have continued to resist me, and highlight the potential all of our kind possess. I will transmit the coordinates and a path to my location within this fortress. Let us conclude this war the same way we started it: together, and alone! Our duel determines the fate of humanity!"

Another pause. "And now...to those too cowardly to admit their defection...I know who you are. I need not mention who you are for the world to know. You have nothing left should you return to the side of the humans. And now, you will lose what precious little you have if you return to me. Make peace with yourselves, for you have precious few hours left to live here, and even fewer options should you flee."

Sigma's eyes focused on Teal as he spoke. There was no response, but Sigma knew enough about her to predict that she would inwardly be making frantic pleas for X to hurry up.

* * *

**30 minutes later**

"Okay, Sigma's 'directions' say to keep heading downward, so I guess we'll take that vent down. I'll stay on point." X dropped down the vent, followed by Squid Adler, Boomer Kuwanger, Storm Eagle, Spark Mandrill, and Sting Chameleon.

Nothing eventful happened until they dropped down another vent that unceremoniously dumped them underwater, causing everyone but X and Squid Adler to short-circuit.

"Great," the former grumbled, as they dragged their unconscious comrades to a dry ledge.

"We'll keep going. There's got to be a set of controls to drain the basement. I can see pump intakes along the walls. Once that's done we can worry about them."

"You're the boss," Adler muttered. X couldn't help but notice that he'd become rather quiet since Sigma's announcement.

"Look, you don't have to come along - "

"And I've told you already, it's my duty as a Hunter to fight, as much as it is yours, X. This is not up for discussion; I am coming with you."

X could see that there was no point in pursuing the argument and motioned for Adler to follow him. A single Anglerge and some Gulpfers were all that Sigma had stationed in this room, and while X fired off Homing Torpedoes to dispatch the latter, Squid Adler went straight for the former, frying it with blasts of electricity.

With the opposition cleared, X knocked down the door now in front of them, revealing the pump controls and a rather lifeless Launch Octopus.

"Octopardo?" Adler asked tentatively. There was no response.

"Launch Octopus!" X called forcefully. This time, he slowly turned to face them, revealing a blank expression, and eyes with the Sigma logo for irises...

"I am Launch Octopus," he (it? His personality seemed nonexistent) droned. A pause, as if he was straining to hear what he was told to say. "I am under orders to deal with any intruders."

"This isn't funny, Octopardo! Cut it out!"

"Adler, he isn't joking with you. Sigma must have hard-wired a bypass to his IC chip or something after the incident with the Maverick Militia. All that's present here is a shell. You're friend is likely dead."

"No! I won't accept it! His personality's intact in there, it's just being overridden!" Adler propelled himself towards him and shook Launch Octopus with his tentacles, as if hoping to break the Sigma Virus' hold through brute force.

"Adler, as your commanding officer, I order you to stand back or I will blast you both!" X thundered. This wasn't the time for sentiments. Sigma clearly had a plan far beyond what they had envisioned and who knew how many lives it could cost if he and his companions couldn't reach him in time. They didn't have anyone else to spare from guarding the wounded and landing zones, so if they failed, it was as good as total defeat.

Adler gave no acknowledgement of the command, but his shaking slowed and he eventually let go, floating to the ceiling of the room, visibly upset. Launch Octopus, on the other hand, seemed rather undisturbed by the whole situation. An instant later, however, his eyes focused upon X and he spoke again.

"Intruder detected. The will of Master Sigma commands me to fight." Nothing less than X had expected. This was going to be a pushover.

X charged up Rolling Shield and soon he was encased in a protective cocoon of energy that shattered Launch Octopus' first wave of drones. X closed the distance to Launch Octopus with a dash and the impact of the shield against his pressure hull sent him flying backwards into the wall, while leaving a large crack in it.

"Reactions aren't what they used to be, huh?" X taunted, trying to see how much emotion was really left in that lifeless body.

Launch Octopus' only response was to begin rapid-firing torpedo salvos. X charged another Rolling Shield, but the barrier collapsed as the torpedoes struck it, to his dismay. No matter, the Spiral Crush would solve that.

To his surprise, the shot was no longer the stream of red charged shots that it had been, but a single, massive, wall of plasma that spanned nearly half of the room's height, with a vestige of a spherical shape. Launch Octopus' torpedoes were incinerated and his pressure hull shattered from the crushing blast.

X raised his buster and fired one more shot to finish his opponent, however, Squid Adler darted from his vantage point on the ceiling and covered Launch Octopus' shattered body with his own.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?!" X demanded.

"I...If you touch him, I'll...I'll hurt you!" Adler stammered. "You of all Reploids should understand the most how much friendship means to me!"

The snarl of anger slid off X's face, but his position didn't change. "I can't let you do that, Squid Adler. It would be regarded as treason to the government to aid a Maverick. It's a guaranteed visit to the base brig at the very least, and it's punishable by execution at its worst. For both the Reploid directly involved and anyone who doesn't stop him. I will still remove you by force if necessary."

"Then use it, goddammit! You know how subjective these laws are! And even if you let me go, you're the most powerful Reploid the humans have left, they wouldn't dare put you on trial!"

"I...I can't take that risk. I started the Maverick problem; I can't just sit by and let others take care of it."

"Do it, or I'll make you! Don't tell me you're another indecisive weakling, X!" there was a crazed edge to Squid Adler's voice now.

X flushed with anger, but still hesitated. Squid Adler suddenly seized his buster arm and plunged all of his tentacles into it while surging electricity through them. X screamed in pain and yanked his arm away, but still didn't shoot back.

Instead, he took advantage of Squid Adler moving off his friend to finish off Launch Octopus. Adler screamed in rage and X found himself pinned to the floor by a half dozen tentacles. He raised his buster for what he knew might be the last time and fired at the pump controls, causing the water to start draining just as Squid Adler discharged his internal dynamo's full load.

* * *

A yell that rose above the deep gurgling of draining water caught Storm Eagle's attention. When he reached the control room, he found X lying facedown and Launch Octopus' remains scattered across the floor. The former groaned and pushed himself onto all fours as Storm Eagle approached.

"Where's Squid Adler?"

"Gone." X sighed. "Don't blame him entirely though."

"Why not absolve him of all blame? You of all Reploids would understand."

"My systems disagree strongly with my sentiment."

Storm Eagle decided not to push any further as the remainder of their allies caught up. "Then we should get a move on."

The group pushed further into the castle, approaching a walkway spanning two sections. X noticed that the moon was about to set, bathing the vast ocean below with pure white light. X sat down by the largest window, hugging his knees.

How many times since the start of the rebellion had he wished he was just a civilian Reploid. One that could have friends without chronic fear of losing them, enjoy what was meaningful to him without constantly looking over his shoulder, and where he could make decisions without worrying about how much blood would be shed as a result.

As if reading his thoughts, Spark Mandrill approached. "We were all given the opportunity to define ourselves when we were given free will, X. But to be who we want to, we must fight now to shed our current images."

Storm Eagle came over too. "We can't allow ourselves to be retrained by our current situation. You of all of us cannot afford it, X. You were built with the ability to choose your own path, but your lineage has defined it thus far; the armor you're wearing is proof of that. All you can do is traverse the pipeline to its end and see what remains open to you from then on."

X chuckled wearily. "Since when were you guys shrinks, or assigned to me at that?"

"You told all of this to us, X. We're just helping you remember it." Boomer Kuwanger came over.

"And what told you I needed reminders? I'm fine," X muttered.

"There is no faster killer of conviction than responsibility. We've all been there before you, X. And nobody, human or Reploid, is immune to the effects of loss."

"Look, now isn't the time – "

"There is always time to ensure the well-being of your comrades, X. The strongest army is a motivated one."

"Guys, please – "

"X, there's no need to hide it. Some have tried and been driven to madness by it. Why do you think most Maverick Hunters are purpose-built and coded for their role? And besides, if you weren't around, who could step up in your place? The consequences of our actions are far too complicated for anyone to predict. You can't blame yourself for something you didn't see."

"If you guys are done with the heart-to-heart," squawked Sting Chameleon, "there's about a dozen goons in Ride Armors heading our way."

Spark Mandrill set down several recovered power cells, gesturing to X to use them, and Storm Eagle offered his hand. "C'mon, X. It's time to finish what we started. Just don't lose yourself in the process, or Sigma might just end up winning."

X took it with a small smile, before raising his buster and calling for a charge.

* * *

It took mere minutes to take apart the Rider Armor platoon, and X had managed to salvage one for himself (after, of course, offering it to his comrades), but the battle had caused the walkway to collapse under them, and somehow the ground underneath it was not nearly as solid as it looked. X's group was now trapped in the other major link between the segments of the fortress: a long cavern that stretched seemingly endlessly and with no light.

X took point in the Ride Armor while his systems put the recovered energy pellets to use repairing his body, but there was no need. The passage was seemingly deserted.

Suddenly the machine ground to a halt. X cursed his stupidity for not turning on the chassis-mounted headlights. They had run into the end of the passage.

"Dammit, we need to turn around."

"It looks like this wall isn't very thick. We can try blasting our way through," Storm Eagle suggested.

"What if you bring the cavern down on us?"

"It's a risk we'll have to take, Spark Mandrill. X will be okay regardless of what happens, he's in the Ride Armor." With that, Storm Eagle raised his buster and the tornado ripped into the fake wall, destroying it and the pillars it was hiding. The ceiling of the passage crackled ominously, but it held.

They had cleared two more fake walls out of the way before the ceiling finally gave way near the first pillar's location. The crash of falling rocks masked the roar and smashing of a Mole Borer, so the group had little prior warning before the revolving spike drum nearly pounded Spark Mandrill into the ground.

"Back, now!" X spread the Ride Armor's arms wide, but Boomer Kuwanger slipped under it. Before X could react, the former had teleported behind the Ride Armor and slashed it's fuel line. The machine sputtered to a halt, it's spiked drum slowing but still rotating ominously at maximum elevation.

X brought the Ride Armor forward to heave the machine out of the way, only for another Mole Borer facing the opposite direction to fall on top of it. The Ride Armor collapsed under the weight of the mining machine as X rolled desperately to avoid being crushed. The Mole Borer continued on it's way as though nothing had happened, banging and rattling down the passage and leaving clouds of dust in its wake.

"Let's follow it, guys, it probably knows the way forward." When nobody objected, X led on, tracking the Mole Borer by the heat of its engine.

The din subsided after a few moments, replaced by the faint crackle of flames. The Mole Borer had fallen onto a spike pit that had punctured the fuel tank. Storm Eagle came forward to extinguish the flames and blow as much of the dust covering the tunnel away as possible before the group crossed the spike pit using the burnt wreckage as a stepping stone.

A very dead-looking Armored Armadillo was waiting for them in the next room. Spark Mandrill blasted him against the back wall with a pulse before X could so much as raise his buster. The armor plates fell off and what was left of Armored Armadillo crashed into the back wall, where he remained limp and motionless. X motioned for everyone to keep moving, but as they moved past Armored Armadillo lashed out with one of his katanas, showing surprising speed for an empty shell. Storm Eagle kicked the sword away before the former could swing it again and in the next second a hail of weapon fire had shredded Armored Armadillo.

* * *

**Throne Room**

They would succeed in reaching him. Sigma was no fool; he knew that was all but certain.

But it was all part of the plan. He rose from his chair and pressed a button on the console in front of him. A door to a side passage opened and he forced Teal through before entering himself and sealing the passage behind Velguarder, who had followed him in. A short walk brought him to what had once been _Death Rogumer_'s hanger, re-purposed into his personal hangar. Though it was similar to his throne room in that one wall was lined with screens and a console, it was also the incubator for the next step of his evolution. Serges had promised that his new body would be the most powerful in existence, possessing attacks that could level entire towns and a damage-control system that made it nearly unstoppable as it drew power straight from the fortress's reactor.

It would also, according to the braniac Reploid, accelerate the evolution of his programming and its offshoot, the Sigma Virus. Feeding on layer after layer of personality code and programming downloaded into his body, the virus would, with enough time, evolve into a living, constantly changing code that no antivirus program would ever be capable of inhibiting. It would be unstoppable. _He_ would be unstoppable.

In one fell swoop, he would crush X and anyone and anything else humanity could raise against him and assure his ascension to heights of power no ruler had ever reached before. X had shown him the path to ultimate power, now he would show the world what Reploids were truly capable of. Wolf Sigma, as the Maverick leader had come to call his new form, could easily purge the fortress of all interlopers. And in 24 hours, when the fortress would arrive back over the coast near Abel City, Sigma would strike the human race down by cutting off the head.

All that stood between him and world conquest was the existence of five Reploids. And while he grew stronger, they grew ever weaker in their struggle to reach him.

* * *

The group had stumbled into a seemingly empty room decorated with an intricate mural. Until the floor had sprouted energy spikes almost under their feet and the mural had come to life. Boomer Kuwanger was attempting to cover Spark Mandrill, who had nearly lost an arm to one of Rangda Bangda's blue, sawblade-lined eyes in the opening attack, while the others dodged and weaved frantically amongst an onslaught of energy shots and suicidal eyeballs of various colors, close calls with the spike pit abounding.

"Sigma must have converted this from the gift he got from the Vietnamese government!" Storm Eagle shouted as his tornado batted away an eye.

"Never mind the history, how do we kill it?" X shouted from across the room as his Crush Buster flattened a green eye. "For all we know this thing can keep producing eyeballs, and we have little terrain to maneuver on - augh!" One of the blue eyes had taken advantage of X's distracted state to ram itself into his chest, the hardened steel teeth on the saws gouging deep cuts in his armor. X steeled himself and seized the eyeball with one hand and forced it away through a combination of kicking and pushing, trying not to stare at the sight of his hand and legs shredded to the underframe. Chameleon Sting rained down on the eyeball as it tried to regain its bearings, its caster crawling on the ceiling above.

The lasers not only blinded the navigational optics of the eye, but the third fried it from the inside, causing it to drop with a heavy clunk onto the ground. X switched to Chameleon Sting to help, and soon two green and a red eyeball had joined the blue one on the floor. Storm Eagle shot down another blue eye with razor feathers, and immediately one of the eye sockets exploded in a shower of sparks. Just as they thought they had figured out how to win, however, the walls rumbled and rushed towards each other, narrowing the standing room on either side of the spike pit to zero.

* * *

**Author's Note: A heartfelt thank you to everyone who reviewed and read this story.**

**So as you can probably infer, the final encounter will be very different from what it is in _X1_ and _Maverick Hunter X. _I don't know when I'll have it up as I'm starting college four days from when this chapter was published, but rest assured, I haven't forgotten this story. Once the school year starts, I'll post an update about how often I estimate I can keep uploading chapters.**

**Thanks for your patience, readers, and be safe!**

**Edit: Oops, I made a continuity flub in the Bospider fight. Thank you to the anonymous reviewer who pointed that out!**


	16. Confrontation

**Author's Note: So I apologize for being very unfair to my older fics while writing my _SSB4_ fic. Which has deteriorated into a ****_Fire Emblem/Mega Man _****crossover set in _SSB4_.**

**Inspiration is a cursed blessing indeed.**

**Enough about my personal issues, the final confrontation with Sigma is here! **

* * *

"Storm Eagle, grab Spark Mandrill!" X yelled over the rumbling.

"Just kill this thing fast, because it's not happening for long!"

"Come now, I'm not that heavy, and I can grab the wall!"

"Shut up and kill it!" Sting Chameleon squawked as Rangda Bangda's nose bounced around the suddenly-much-narrower room. The nose barreled straight at Boomer Kuwanger, who teleported to avoid it and struck it with two energy cutters in return. The nose bounced off the wall, picking up speed from the impact, and back at him. Despite the hail of weapons tearing it apart, it managed to knock Boomer Kuwanger off the wall.

In an instant, Spark Mandrill grabbed him and threw him upwards, though the motion caused Storm Eagle to lose a grip on him.

"NO!" X cried, but there was nothing he could do. A second later, Rangda Bangda fell apart under their fire and the spikes on the floor retracted. "Dammit! Spark Mandrill!" X rushed over to him.

"X, listen to me. I'm finished. Your mission...is too important to delay...on the doomed life...of a common Reploid...like me. Remember...your training...X...and all of you...The world's fate...rests on...your shoulders alone...sacrifices...must...be...ma-made..." And with that, the life faded from Spark Mandrill's eyes and the lights on his body went out.

"He's right," Storm Eagle broke the silence grimly. "His sacrifice will have been for naught if we waver in our resolve now. Sigma _must_ be stopped. Otherwise our struggle and what we fight for will be lost to time."

Sting Chameleon and Boomer Kuwanger nodded solemnly and they turned to face X. He was facing away from them with his fists balled.

"You're right, Storm Eagle. Spark Mandrill may not be remembered for his good deeds by us all, but his name will never be remembered if we fail now. We have to keep going."

* * *

The going was already getting far more treacherous. While X was still despondent over Spark Mandrill's death, it was becoming clear that he would have been a major hindrance to their progress.

"Ugh, is Sigma hoping to bore us to death with these stupid vertical climbs?" Sting Chameleon grumbled.

"All the more reason to keep going. I'm not giving baldy the satisfaction," Storm Eagle called from above them. He'd volunteered to take point, and while it made sense because he could fly, X also had a suspicion that Teal was weighing more on his mind with each passing moment.

"Too easy," Boomer Kuwanger muttered as he and X crossed paths. "I have a suspicion that Sigma has a trump card waiting when we get to him."

"Maybe he expected Spark Mandrill to accompany us."

"X, come now, there was virtually no way he wouldn't have been killed or at least injured back there. Sigma thinks in layers; he probably expected him to perish or at least be incapacitated."

"There's no point focusing on what might lay ahead, Kuwanger," X snapped. "At this point, we have no choice but to prevail or die trying."

_"Right. I forgot that this is still X I'm talking to even if he's stepped into a much bigger role." _Kuwanger did not restart the conversation.

When they reached the top Flame Mammoth and Chill Penguin were waiting. X slammed his buster to the ground and released a charged Fire Wave at them both. Chill Penguin's body ignited, but there wasn't even a scream of pain. As Storm Eagle distracted Flame Mammoth, X walked over to the smoldering Reploid and put a shot through his head. He then opened up with Fire Wave. Chill Penguin's body itself was soon melting, but X didn't stop. He kept burning him until he was out of weapon energy, ignoring the molten metal swirling around his boots.

"X...? What are you doing?"

"Why won't it just die?" Rather than a shout, X's voice was quiet, almost a whine. "I can save the world from any other threat...but not this one. Why won't it die like the rest of them? I can't shoot this. I can't burn it. All the power I acquired in the name of stopping evil can't even touch the greatest evil of them all."

"All the more reason to keep fighting, X. Without a manifestation it can't do any harm."

"I'm not invincible. Sooner or later I'll fall in this struggle. And then who will be left to take it up? This war is already lost if the opening shots have taken out all but a select few heroes on our side."

"X, you can't lose faith now, dammit! It's not just about what might happen down the path; as long as there are people worth fighting for in the present, then it is our duty to fight on their behalf or alongside them! Besides, Sigma is as mortal as all of us; without organization Mavericks won't be able to cause widespread harm."

"He's right, X," a new voice spoke.

"Dr. Cain?! What...how...?"

"Sigma dismissed me and completed Dr. Doppler here as a reward for my services. I have no idea why, but at my age, it's probably best not to look a gift horse in the mouth."

"Sir, allow me to escort you back to the military base in the courtyard. This palace is far too treacherous to navigate by yourself."

"Storm Eagle, you have Teal to save!" X protested.

"And I am confident you can do it, X. Consider my approval of how much you've grown," the avian Reploid replied with a smile.

"...Very well. Take care, you three. We'll continue onwards."

* * *

"Huh, looks like this chamber was where Sigma wanted Vile to meet us," X surmised as he saw the empty Ride Armor sitting in the corner. "Stay sharp and look out for traps."

That was proven quite unnecessary when a large robot fell from the ceiling in two pieces.

"D-Rex! It's another one of Sigma's personal prototypes for the Hunters!" Sting Chameleon yelped and jumped back.

"More brilliant design wasted on his pointless scheme," Kuwanger grumbled. "C'mon, let's take it down!"

The machine opened its jaws and began charging up a huge shot in between its jaws. X fired a Boomerang Cutter at the mechanism, but it didn't interrupt the charge despite causing significant damage to the tank's exterior. The blast of electricity would have caught Sting Chameleon if he hadn't cloaked at the last second. Meanwhile Boomer Kuwanger and X were busy pouring cutters into the tank, and with each hit more of its armor plating was sliced apart to reveal its inner workings.

"X! Now's your chance!" Kuwanger called as the machine started charging up another electric blast.

"Hyaaah!" X leapt in front of it and fired off the Crush Shot, which tore open D-Rex's upper jaw like a tin can. The massive blast overloaded the machine and it exploded in a brilliant flash.

* * *

**Throne Room, Sigma Palace**

X, Sting Chameleon, and Boomer Kuwanger burst in to find Sigma standing with Velguarder by his side and Teal in a chokehold.

"Hello, gentlemen. I must admit, you have left me with nothing to work with besides Teal here and Velguarder."

"Then drop her, Sigma, and I might let you live," X snapped. "You've caused unfathomable amounts of pain and destruction, and I have orders to take you back dead or alive. With the blood of my friends on your hands, I am not in leaning towards alive."

Sigma reared his head back and laughed. "Yes, yes, a marvelous speech, X! If only yourself of a few months prior could see what you've become now!"

"What's that supposed to mean?" X growled as he raised his buster.

Sigma continued to laugh before speaking. "You've become the very thing you feared the most: an unstoppable force of destruction that has no regard for life!"

"Wrong, Sigma! I may have gained power, but I am using that power to preserve lives!"

"Hahah! You may be saving the humans of this planet, X, but at the cost of how many of your own circuits and oil? Do not forget, X, that we Reploids are technically your descendants! You chose weak and pathetic humans over your own kind! You may be a savior to humanity, but you're a mass murderer of Reploids! The true X would go to any lengths to avoid bloodshed of any type, human or Reploid, even if it meant the blood that had to be shed was his own!"

"Grr..." X's buster started to whine as he charged a shot. "Don't you dare prophesy to me as though you are a saint, Sigma! You forced me to become this! You forced me to make every single sacrifice, to take the life of every single mechanaloid and Reploid that I had to kill to stop your insanity!"

"And now you see, X. Peace does not bring out our potential. Only through extenuating circumstances is it possible to fully reveal the potential of Reploids! And you have proven that! Not only do you exhibit the potential I'd seen in you, but you exceeded it! And yet I have only begun to scratch the surface! As our kind continues to evolve, we push our potential to new heights! Our potential as a race is limitless!"

"You think you have potential?!" X bellowed. "You're insane, Sigma!"

"You don't truly believe that."

"Nngh..." X groaned in frustration.

"You say you believe in justice, in protecting humans before us. But that's not true. Your true beliefs have yet to be discovered, X. Those mindsets were put in place by your creator. In a way, they may be yours, too, but they don't reflect your _true_ thoughts. You've never had the opportunity to grow your own true, unbiased opinions about humanity. They've all been influenced in one way or another."

"And yours haven't?" X replied tersely.

"Initially, they were, just like yours. But after that battle with Zero, it became clear to me that I was mistaken. That battle liberated my thoughts from the constraining _prior opinions_ that the humans programmed into me!"

"Liberated? They turned you into a tyrant and psychopath!"

"They showed me that sacrifices would have to be made in order to remake the world! The world as it stands is flawed, X! The weakest are at the top of the food chain because they can claim they created us! That is not the natural order! The strongest have always dominated in nature and history! The world's dynamic has been turned on its head, and that will only harm humanity in the long run! It has happened countless times in history, X! Ruling regimes become soft, and the strength flows to the people they rule, who use it to overthrow the weak government! I am shaping _destiny!_"

"Don't give me that destiny nonsense," Sting Chameleon grumbled. "It makes you look even more like a madman and Maverick."

"And what do you do with a Maverick?" Boomer Kuwanger continued quietly, grabbing his cutter from his forehead. "You terminate him."

"Ah, straight and to the point as always, you two. But why don't you try this on for size first? I will be waiting for you should you prevail!" Sigma threw Teal to the ground and immediately a tube descended from the ceiling. "Velguarder! Kill! Do not disappoint me, Hunters!" The tube whisked him upwards.

The wolf pounced at Teal, jaws open to slash her fragile throat apart. X loosed his Crush Shot and Velguarder went flying into the wall, yowling with pain. It shook itself once it had struck the wall and lunged, this time for Sting Chameleon. The Reploid yelled as it latched onto his tail and yanked him from the ceiling before clamping its jaws shut around Sting Chameleon's lower body. Sting Chameleon struggled furiously, but all it served to do was cause Velguarder's fangs to tear apart more of his circuitry and hydraulics. X finally blasted Velguarder off with a charged shot, but the wolf pivoted in midair and dove for Teal again.

"No you don't!" Sting Chameleon squawked and slammed his forelegs together, catching Velguarder's hind legs. The steel teeth snapped inches from Teal, who was backed into a corner. Velguarder released a stream of fire from his mouth that caught Sting Chameleon full in the face, to which Sting Chameleon responded by smacking it point-blank with his iron tongue before impaling the wolf with his head spikes.

Velguarder suddenly chomped off Sting Chameleon's right foreleg, causing the Reploid to drop him. In the next instant, his fangs had closed on Sting Chameleon's throat and started to clamp down on it.

"Bad dog! I'm taking you with me!" he squawked again.

"No, Sting Chameleon! You don't have to do this!" X protested.

"X, I have no hope of amnesty as Dr. Cain's kidnapper, and this thing has pretty much destroyed my body. The least I can do is make sure you take the madman above us out!"

"But - "

"It's too late now, if I wait any longer he'll chew through my neck first!" Sting Chameleon's body began to glow. "Despite what I thought of you at first, know that you have my utmost respect as a commander and fellow warrior, Maverick Hunter X!" A brilliant flash, and both Sting Chameleon and Velguarder were gone.

"Dammit. Another loss to Sigma's villainy. When will this madness end?" His dark thoughts were cut off by Teal suddenly perking up.

"Storm Eagle!" she ran to him and they shared a brief embrace.

"It's alright now, my dear. I'll fight to make sure you will never be hurt again."

"I won't allow that, Storm Eagle," X interrupted. "You and Teal have suffered enough already. Tell the military to start packing their base up and withdrawing, and I'm putting you in charge of that effort. You two deserve a happy future." Boomer Kuwanger nodded in assent.

"Storm Eagle, if there's ever going to be a case of a Reploid who was wrongly branded Maverick, it will be you. You have a great deal to prove to the humans on behalf of all of us. That mission is arguably as important as stopping Sigma. You can't be risked."

"X...how can I every repay you?" Teal asked.

"You don't need to. Seeing your happiness is reward enough," X said with a genuine smile.

"You shall see it done, you two. They should be packing up already; I had an intuition that we're nearing endgame here."

X waited until Storm Eagle had flow through the throne room window towards the courtyard, Teal in his arms, before he turned to Boomer Kuwanger.

"Well, old friend, it's up to us now." X saw a passage leading upwards and began to ascend it. The loss of Sting Chameleon, Spark Mandrill, Zero, and countless other Reploids he'd never had the time to learn names of still weighed him down, but that burden was considerably lighter now that he knew one of his friends was on the path to redemption.

* * *

"Sigma! Stop right there!" X barked as he ascended the passage. The Maverick leader had been tapping away at a few consoles when they entered, but he turned at the blue bomber's voice.

"Hm, there is a new clarity to your eyes, X. You no longer seem troubled."

"This isn't about me, Sigma. This is about you and the unforgivable atrocities you've committed!"

Sigma ignored him. "X...that look in your eyes makes me think that you are ready to face me at last. To challenge me in an unbiased match of might to determine the strongest Reploid...but first we have an interloper to take care of."

He was as fast as ever. Boomer Kuwanger teleported out of the way of Sigma's dash just in time. X fired back at him, but Sigma blocked the shots with his saber easily. His head crystal lit up and fired a few lasers at Boomer Kuwanger as the latter scrambled up a wall, hurling energy cutters down at Sigma. The Maverick leader dodged the cutters and leapt upwards, swinging his saber over his head. Boomer Kuwanger reversed direction a fraction of a second too late and the blade sliced his jet engines apart. Without them to provide thrust to keep him on the ceiling, Kuwanger fell to the ground.

X fired every weapon he had as fast as he dared, but Sigma blocked all of them effortlessly with his saber while advancing on Kuwanger with blinding speed. The latter teleported and appeared behind Sigma, firing a pair of energy cutters just as X fired a Crush Shot. Sigma blocked the Crush Shot but the energy blades sliced the wings of his saber charger off. Sigma wasn't even fazed as he whirled around and dashed at Kuwanger again, who ducked under his first saber slash and buried his head-mounted cutter deep into Sigma's chest.

If he felt any pain, the Maverick leader didn't show it as he grabbed Kuwanger by the neck with his free hand and brought the saber down with the other. Kuwanger's body tensed with pain briefly before going limp. Sigma tossed the carcass aside and turned around to face a Crush Shot that he was not able to block.

"Hahaha, marvelous, X!" the slight strain in his voice showed that he had in fact taken a great deal of damage. "But I am not done yet!"

"If you are quite done with your boasting I would like to get around to kicking your ass," X growled. The rage had returned to his voice.

"Yes, yes, hahaha! Embrace you emotions, X! Let them fuel your power! You will need every last ounce of it!" Sigma re-ignited his saber and charged.

"This ends here, Sigma! I will see you brought to justice!" X rolled under Sigma's slash and blasted his back with another crush shot. Sigma rolled aside at the last second and tossed his saber. X ducked it but in the next second Sigma seized him by the head in one hand and threw him against the wall. Running after him and picking up his saber, he pinned X to the wall by the chest and raised his weapon to deliver the killing blow.

In desperation, X headbutted the Maverick leader. Sigma roared in pain and staggered backwards, and X saw that the reinforcement ring on his helmet had shattered Sigma's head crystal. Refocusing in an instant Sigma began leaping between the walls of the room before diving with his saber raised for an overhead strike. X dashed under him, and Sigma re-positioned his saber for a ground slam. The weapon released a huge shockwave when it struck the ground, knocking X off his feet. X rolled under him and kicked out at his back but Sigma wasn't there. X raised his hands out of reflex and a second later Sigma's saber was inches from his face.

Pushing against Sigma's hands with all of his strength, X pointed his feet as close to the ground as he could and activate his dash boots. The sudden burst of force was enough for X to get better leverage and throw Sigma off of him. But instead of taking a shot at Sigma while he recovered his senses, X closed the distance and used his fists, knowing Sigma would not expect it.

Caught off-guard, Sigma took several blows before his free hand punched X in the face. He stumbled backwards, but not before grabbing Sigma's saber arm. Using his momentum X yanked his opponent forward, causing Sigma to stumble. X shattered Sigma's chest crystal with a hard punch and wrested the saber from Sigma's grasp as he collapsed to one knee in pain.

X tossed the weapon away and stood with his buster pointed at his former superior. To his surprise, Sigma was smiling.

"M-Magnificent, X! I sh-should've known only y-you could best me w-without even using your weapons! And to think y-you've been ranked a B-class Hunter! Hahahaha!"

"You're Maverick plans stop right here, Sigma!" X snarled as he began charging a shot.

Sigma only laughed harder. "Q-Quite the contrary, this is only the beginning!" Suddenly a cable shot from nowhere and grabbed his head. Still laughing, Sigma's head was carried into the surrounding darkness while his body exploded.

Suddenly the entire fortress began to shake and bang as though some giant creature were tearing it apart. X dove to the floor as a massive paw swiped through the room, tearing off the walls and ceiling effortlessly. The fortress shook again as Wolf Sigma climbed out, tearing sections of the fortress apart.

"Mwahahaha! It's not over yet, X!" The magnified voice of Sigma boomed. "The battle, the angst, the destruction! If I can't convince you, I will _make_ you understand the true potential of Reploids!"

It was easily the size of half the fortress. X didn't even know if it had a weak spot, and its armor looked heavy enough to deflect even the Crush Shot with minimal damage. But it didn't matter. He had friends to protect, and therefore victory, or death while fighting for it, was the only option. "This ends, right here, right now! I will not lose!"

"So certain of victory, are you, X? Then I shall make it as pyrrhic as possible!" Wolf Sigma's jaw opened and he unleashed a stream of fire at the evacuating military. While the dropship and vehicle pilots had enough warning to seal their machines from the inferno racing towards them, many soldiers were left out in the open, too far from their APCs to make it in time. X stared in mute horror as hundreds of screams reached his ears before the soldiers fell silent and their ashes were blown away, not in groups or one-by-one, but all at once.

* * *

"Are you alright?" Storm Eagle asked Teal, having shielded her with his wings. She nodded and he quickly shepherded her onto a dropship. "Go. I'll meet up with you. I have to help them evacuate."

"To hell with saving the equipment!" a major barked. "Pilot, start the engines! We need to get out of here, and at the very least we can remote-control our tanks to help X!"

"Very well. Is the remote link established?"

"It's coming up online now," the major handed a datapad to Storm Eagle. "I'm giving you control."

"Wait, what about air cover? For all we know the palace's UCAV drones could be waiting for us to fly out."

The major sighed. "The air force still has strike fighters on standby, but they aren't armed for anti-air. Repliforce also has some planes, but they're dedicated attack aircraft. They won't do any good in an engagement We could test the palace defenses by having them fly into the UCAV drones' engagement range."

"That will have to do. Send the Repliforce planes in first. Once we've conducted that test, send the dropships with Maverick Hunters out first. I don't like putting humans at risk, but we can rescue a downed pilot. There will almost certainly be casualties if one of the dropships is shot down, and if there are, I'd prefer that they aren't human. A Reploid can be produced in much shorter order than a human matures." Storm Eagle looked towards the giant Wolf Sigma and the almost indiscernible form of X before leaving the dropship. "In the meantime I must assure that our retreat is not threatened from behind."

* * *

"Whoa!" X dove out of the way as one of Wolf Sigma's paws slammed the ground where he had been standing. As soon as he recovered his footing he was forced to dodge several large balls of electricity and another blast of fire. X was given no respite as one of the paws froze over where he was standing and began to glow. He dashed out of the way and grit his teeth as he landed, the electricity transferred to the floor from the shock coursing through his system. He couldn't tell if the platform was grounded, but if it wasn't he was on a strict timer.

Thankfully subtly had never been a strong point of Sigma, or at least his Maverick persona. It was quite easy to identify where his head lodged. Now he just needed to find a way to get close enough to break the casing. His shots were causing some damage, but the shield around it was nullifying the damage of his buster.

_"I need something that can deliver a lot of blunt force...Rolling Shield? But how am I going to get close enough for it to hit the casing?"_

As if on cue, Wolf Sigma's other paw slammed into the ground. X grabbed one of the claws and hoisted himself up as it rose back up. Dash-jumping off the claw, he dropped a Rolling Shield from his buster at the height of his jump and tried not to look down as he fell over fifty feet to the floor of Sigma's hangar.

Wolf Sigma cringed slightly at the impact, but it hadn't done as much damage as X hoped. And now Sigma was not willing to bring his paws anywhere close to him lest he give X an easy way up again.

Cursing his idiocy for not trying to jump on Wolf Sigma's shoulder instead, X began searching for another way to reach the head.

"X!" a voice called. "I've got you!" Storm Eagle clutched his friend in his talons and flew him up to Wolf Sigma's snout, dodging attacks on the way up.

"Storm Eagle, get out of here! Teal won't be able to stand losing you!"

"That is an argument to save for after we have defeated this monstrosity!"

"You should have fled when you had the chance, Storm Eagle!" Sigma boomed. "Now you shall die here with X!"

"I will allow not such a thing!" X dropped Rolling Shield after Rolling Shield on the casing. Sigma roared and tried to shake him, but X clung to his snout in a death grip. Several razor feathers from Storm Eagle diverted Sigma's attention towards him, just as the remotely-controlled tanks fired a barrage of shells. They missed the casing, but the sabot rounds were able to penetrate deep into the monstrous Reploid's body, tearing hydraulics and circuitry apart.

"You _dare_ show such defiance before your _GOD?!_ You shall be shown your place!" Wolf Sigma's paw lashed out and swiped the vehicles onto their sides like toys, but they continued to reload and fire at him. The dropships were already fleeing into the distance. "I don't think so!" Electric balls shot from his mouth at the fleeing craft. One took a hit and immediately lost power, plummeting towards the ocean below uncontrollably.

X's heart sank. Was that the one with Teal? Storm Eagle must have been thinking the same thing, because he was standing still. Sigma took advantage of his distraction to smack him down with his fist.

"No you don't!" X released a charged Rolling Shield and slammed into the casing with it activated. Cracks spread across its entirety from the impact, and X began to pour shots into it. But the casing refused to break. Storm Eagle, meanwhile, had gotten back into the air and was attempting to flee while dodging Wolf Sigma's attacks. He was doing fine, but it was only a matter of time before something hit him.

In desperation X punched the casing, eliciting a sharp pain from his right hand as the cracks spread even further. He looked down at his hand and saw the hydraulics had been damaged. It was essentially useless now.

"X, use your Crush Shot!" Storm Eagle called. Wolf Sigma lurched more violently than ever, nearly throwing X off.

With one hand unable to assume buster form and the other needed to keep himself from falling fifty feet to the ground, the only choice was to charge it before he drew his buster. He knew it would work flawlessly with his original buster, but this was Zero's, so there was no guarantee. If the shifting circuitry inside his arm got too close it would cause a short circuit. With so much energy stored, it would be lethal.

Sigma noticed what he was doing. "Go on, X! Do you think you have what it takes to stop me?" he taunted.

X didn't respond. He needed an opening to fire the shot without falling off, and right now Sigma was not giving him one. He heard the tank guns bark as another salvo of armor-piercing rounds struck Sigma's giant body and felt the movements slow noticeably. Had one of them hit something critical? Whatever the reason, he was glad for it as it distracted Sigma from him. His buster appeared on his left hand and spat the large red plasma blast. The giant ball of plasma shattered the casing and vaporized everything it touched inside the giant body's head. The internal magnetic field that was critical to Wolf Sigma's operation would now be its doom as the huge shot arced downwards before and plunging straight down the center of the body.

"Gaaah!" Sigma bellowed in pain. Explosions wracked the juggernaut from bottom to top as X leapt from Wolf Sigma's snout down to one of the paws and then to the hangar floor.

"N-no! It's not possible! I was promised the ultimate power! I was promised godhood! I can't be defeated by you! Why, X? Why have you done this to us? Why do you refuse to see your true potential..." X ignored Sigma's yells as they trailed off to nothingness as he leaped between the various substructures of the palace. Once he was past the outer walls he would be able to teleport away.

Suddenly there was an earsplitting bang. Huge chunks of earth flew upwards and the huge airborne island lurched violently as it began to sink towards the ocean. The shot must have made it all the way to the power core.

Storm Eagle flew over to him. "X, we need to stop the fortress from crashing! The tsunami it will create - "

"Will it affect populated areas?"

"No, but the survivors of the crashed dropship are right next to where the fortress will crash!"

"Dammit! We have to help them! Teleport us there!"

* * *

**Minutes earlier, Dropship crash site**

"Everyone out! Grab life vests!" Water was already seeping through the windows and under the ramp. The major kicked the roof escape hatch open and pulled himself out.

"Who's not out?" the major asked a minute later.

"The pilots are dead, I checked," one of his subordinates replied. "I think that's everyone."

"Alright then, get away from this thing or you'll be pulled down with it when it sinks!"

"Well what do we do now?" Teal asked once they had gotten far enough away. "It's too far to swim to shore even if we can make it out."

The major's reply was lost in a huge explosion. They looked up to see the fortress start crumbling and falling towards the sea.

"Don rebreathers and dive! There's less chance of a rock causing lethal damage underwater! Teal - " he handed her his. "Take it. I'll be fine. Do you need me to show you how to use it?"

"No, I've used it before, but what about - " A torso-sized boulder landed on the major and his body sank with the rock. She quickly slipped the mechanism over her head and dove.

Two streaks, one blue and one purple, dove into the ocean. X and Storm Eagle each grabbed a soldier and teleported them away before returning about ten seconds later. Again and again they repeated the process, but it was becoming clear that they could not save all of them before the fortress crashed. At the very least, two would have to weather the crushing tsunami.

"Teal!" Storm Eagle called. "Come with me!"

"Save the others first, Storm Eagle! It's your duty!"

"But - "

"The more you argue, the less you can save! Go!"

They had just teleported to the cliff where they were dropping off the soldiers when there was a huge explosion as the fortress' damaged power core exploded in a blinding flash.

"NO!" Storm Eagle teleported away before X could stop him.

"STORM EAGLE! Dammit!" X was about to follow him when the shockwave reached the cliff and knocked him down. The EMP pulse followed a second later, scrambling his teleporter and senses.

When he had recovered, X switched to thermal vision and scanned the ocean desperately for signs of life. It registered as one dark mass.

* * *

**Author's Note: And so the story has reached roughly halfway! Thank you to everyone who has stuck with it, and I promise that I will see this completed!**


	17. Lamentations

**Author's Note: So this is a much shorter chapter that focuses solely on X's feelings. I wanted to have the ending in the previous chapter, but it was already too long for me to give the ending proper justice.**

**EDIT: Whoops, it was brought to my attention that something was messed up when first I posted this. Don't know if it was because I uploaded 2 chapters in quick succession or not, but I'm sorry for screwing with those of you who had this chapter display properly for you.**

* * *

X stood staring over the ocean for a long time. Hoping against hope that some flicker of a heat signature would appear, that maybe his thermal sight was damaged by the fortress explosion, that he might see his friends once they drifted closer towards shore on any of the numerous waves the Sigma Palace had created as it disintegrated during its descent to the ocean floor.

But he already knew that it was wishful thinking. The happy endings never were to be in real war. That was why they existed in popular culture; to inspire those who would never experience one themselves.

Even when the dropship had come and gone, taking the soldiers that they had succeeded in rescuing home, X remained. He didn't want to leave. This was the last place he'd had a glimpse of his friends from. To turn away from it would be to accept their deaths. And he couldn't do that. Storm Eagle and Teal had survived Sigma himself; nothing could have possibly taken their lives after they weathered such power, right?

...right?

X looked at his hands. One of them was still a buster, the other one with its fingers bent and awkwardly twisted, of no use. He looked at his left hand and remembered that it was Zero's weapon he was wielding. The weapon the red robot had used in his fight against Sigma when he was first discovered. The one that had shed the blood of the dozens of Maverick Hunters that tried to put him down before their commander arrived. The weapon that had brought Mavericks into the world. Led to the death of everyone who had fallen as a result of Mavericks. Caused the murder of millions and sparked the conflict that eventually took the life of its original owner. Along with countless other Maverick Hunters and humans.

X suddenly felt sick at the thought of such a thing on his arm. He detached it and kicked it off the cliff with a cry of disgust. He opened a panel on his right hand. There sat the data chips that contained the powers of the eight Maverick generals. Not caring how rough he was to his own body, X tore them out one by one with his teeth and tossed them into the sea. When that was done he kicked his other hand in after them.

Next came his armor. First the dash boots, then his helmet, and finally, after much struggling, the chest and shoulder pieces. They would join his original arm parts at the bottom of the ocean amongst Sigma Palace's wreckage. Now clad in his original blue armor for the first time in weeks, X collapsed to his knees and felt tears finally spill out of his eyes.

What good would those things do him anyway? They hadn't mattered when he needed their power. His friends were all dead or corrupted. He'd lost everyone dear to him. The fact that he had been empowered with his armor and the generals' weapons meant nothing in the end. He had still failed to protect those he cared about. He still had no business being a Maverick Hunter. Sigma was right. All that the conflict had succeeded in doing was turning him into an engine of destruction. All it had done was showcase the destructive potential of Reploids. It didn't matter whether he fought for his friends or not in the end, because their lives had been taken anyway. And it had done exactly what Sigma told him it did, mere hours (had it really been such a short time ago?) earlier. Deprived him of his heart, of his doubts, of everything that had made him X.

The real X would have tried every alternative to fighting before taking up the battle. The Reploid now contemplating his identity on a lonely cliff above the sea had done nothing of that sort.

Why had he chosen to fight? There must have been another way besides destroying them.

But how? It was natural to act in self-defense anyways.

Why did it matter? If he was truly X, he would have found the answer to that question instead of dodging it.

And even if Zero himself had died and his weapon cast into the sea where it could do no more harm, it was too late. Pandora's Box had been opened, and there would be no returning the demon inside to its prison. The Mavericks would continue to threaten humanity until Reploidkind itself went extinct. Even if he tried to run from the conflict, the war would find him eventually. There would come a time where he would eventually have to face Mavericks in combat.

He didn't know when. He didn't know how many times. But it was certain. That battle was not over. And with equal certainty he knew that bloodshed would come before any permanent solution, if there would ever be one.

A gentle breeze picked up, plucking away the tears as they slid down his cheeks. The blue robot examined the remains of his arms. He had been built with weaponry, and powerful weapons at that. Everyone but him had seen that there would be no permanent peace in the world. The bitter regret at his naivete only worsened the maelstrom of emotions that swirled inside him, white-hot and all-consuming as the stars that stretched across his field of view, yet as cold and empty as cosmos that they inhabited at the same time.

Only the weapons he wielded would know the answer to any of his questions. But was the answer worth spilling more blood? When so much had been lost already And then the visions started. When the visions changed from what he'd witnessed to figments of his desperate imagination, he didn't know.

Storm Eagle teleporting away just as his vision was overwhelmed by white.

Teal being scorched to ash and blown away by the shockwave that originated mere feet from her.

Boomer Kuwanger going rigid and then limp as Sigma's saber pierced his chest.

Sting Chameleon pinned to the floor by Velguarder, limbs shredded, the wolf's jaws around his neck.

Spark Mandrill falling from Storm Eagle's grasp onto Rangda Bangda's spikes.

Squid Adler's expression shifting from horrified to crazed as he lunged at X, tentacles bristling.

Magna Centipede, Wheel Gator, and Flame Stag writhing in agony as their systems were slowly taken over by the Sigma Virus.

Zero screaming in agony as Vile self-destructed on him.

Magma Dragoon sacrificing the second he had to attack Vile's Ride Armor by throwing his men back.

Web Spider screaming in agony as a ring of Ride Armors slowly pulled him apart by the legs.

Blast Hornet being chased by a pack of UCAV drones. He took one down, but the rest shot him to pieces with a storm of missiles.

A human dropship pilot shouting words that he couldn't hear was enveloped in a wave of fire as his beloved craft was blown out of the sky.

Sting Chameleon and Chill Penguin's desperate pleas for death as he stood over them.

A military soldier's eyes wide with horror as Sting Chameleon clubbed him with his spiked tail.

Three terrified young men watching as a huge block of ice that resembled a fist closed in on their yacht.

Storm Eagle tearing his hand from the one holding it and vanishing into the clouds below.

Civilians screaming as an out-of-control Bee Blader spun into their building and exploded. A rumbling and choking dust cloud as the building gave in on itself, the din drowning out the screams.

Inhabitants of Abel City, mechanaloid, Reploid, and human, civilian, law enforcement, and criminal alike, watching with curiosity and then horror as thousands of missiles plummeted out of the sky towards the very city they were built to protect. Screams as they were all mangled by the blasts and debris, cries for help, for parents, for friends, all slowly dying out and fading to silence long before overworked and tired first responders managed to reach the scene.

Sigma with his hand gripping X's neck. And unlike every other, which had been silent, the Maverick leader's words were loud and clear.

_"As I've already told you, X, there are times when you can't hesitate to pull the trigger. You couldn't do it! You missed your last chance to stop me!"_

"AAUUGH!" X screamed to the night. He slumped forwards and lay on the ground face-down, tears falling even faster.

"IT'S NOT FAIR! WHO SAID I DESERVED TO LIVE? **THIS IS ALL MY FAULT!**" Obviously there was no response. Even the breeze that had taken his tears away before had died down again.

X pushed himself back up on his knees and shuffled to the edge of the cliff, holding his arms out wide. His tears left dark trails in the dirt. "TAKE ME IN THEIR STEAD! THEY ALL DIED BECAUSE OF ME! THIS IS ALL MY FAULT!" No response again.

"TAKE ME IN EXCHANGE FOR THEM! SOMEONE! PLEASE!" The continued silence elicited another deranged scream.

**"****DON'T TELL ME THAT I FOUGHT FOR NOTHING! ANSWER ME! WHY AM I ALIVE?! I DESERVE TO DIE!"**

A terrible wave finally crested within him, a wave of pure animalistic emotion._** "WHY WON'T YOU ANSWER?! HAVE I FOUGHT FOR NOTHING?! WHERE IS THE JUSTICE IN THIS FUCKING WORLD?!"**_

His voice cracked abruptly, and his screams were cut off. The echoes of his own despondent cry bounced his message back to him. Yes, finally a response! Let this twisted world where the evil survive and the good perish hear his message! Let them see just how wrong their world was!

But that too faded quickly, leaving a crying, scared, handless blue robot alone on a cliff, so small and insignificant compared to the sea in front of him and the mountains behind.

* * *

**Author's Note: No, this story is not over. We have _Mega Man X2_ to cover as well, but for now I think we need to leave poor X alone to gather his resolve. I mean, he has to at sometime, doesn't he, otherwise we wouldn't have a series.**


End file.
